Spider-man meets Daredevil
by KayMacBurn
Summary: Spider-man is still new to this whole super hero thing and he is still working out some of the hiccups. Lucky for him he finds there are other New Yorkers willing to help him out. Before Tony Stark came calling there was Daredevil.
1. Chapter 1

Peter sat through math class with his phone propped between his books.

Occasionally the teacher would ask him a question to see if he was paying attention but with a quick glance, he was always able to rattle off the correct answer until eventually he was left alone.

He smirked at the current video he was watching of himself swinging through the streets of Queens.

Deciding he was being a bit narcissistic though he switched to some humours fail videos before finally shoving his phone away moments before the bell.

With a grin he made his way to his locker to get rid of his books.

It was finally Friday and he had some plans that needed to be started. Most included him running around the city in his red hoodie and blue sweat plants, but he was also planning on watching a movie with Ned, and surprising his Aunt May with dinner.

It had been almost six months since his uncle Ben had died and he was finally starting to feel human again. He could smile without feeling guilty, he could sit by himself and not cry, and he was able to talk to his aunt for more then five minutes and not have a panic attack.

Peter paused only long enough to watch a group of senior girls walk by, one of which was Liz. Her lovely blue top and black skirt made him sigh before blushing once he realized he was staring.

As he headed out the door Ned caught up to him.

"Are we still good for tomorrow night?" He asked happily.

"Yup. Aunt May already knows!" Peter answered with his grin. "Are you bringing the Star trek box set?"

"You know it!"

Peter knew that Ned was just happy to spend time with him again and it wouldn't matter what they watched. It had been a long six months for both of them, albeit for different reasons.

"See you tomorrow night!" Peter called as they spilt ways.

Peter did a quick two step to avoid being hit by Flash Thompsons car before continuing on his way. The loud 'PENIS PARKER' being yelled from the bully was easy enough to ignore with his mind being pulled to the task at hand.

May wouldn't be home till eight which meant he could get a couple of hours of patrolling in before hitting the grocery store. He might not get a chance again that night and his conscience wouldn't let him skip Spiderman's responsibilities altogether.

As soon as he was off the train he was sprinting down the sidewalk towards his favorite alley. It was dark, without much foot traffic going by, which meant a teenage boy stripping to his boxers would go widely unnoticed.

He quickly pulled on his blue and red outfit along with his newly tweaked web shooters. His bag was tossed into the corner secured with said webbing to ensure no one would take his homework.

A single breath was slowly released then he gripped the wall and crawled all the way to the top of the tall apartment complex.

The view of the city was breathtaking, and Spiderman didn't think he would ever be tired of it.

With an excited whoop he bolted towards the ledge, leaping out and free falling for a few seconds before catching a building with his web effectively turning himself into a human pendulum.

His goggles gave him just enough vision to zero in on his next target with a quick mental calculation. His timing was always perfect between the shot and the angle of his swing to the next shot. He just wished his landings were a bit more on point.

After hearing a scream to his left, he tried to drop into a proper superhero landing but instead overshot it and landed on his face.

"AH man!" He whined as he pulled himself to his feet. "Hope that one doesn't make the gag reel!"

The panicked voice that he had originally heard came again and he forgot his embarrassment and quickly zeroed in on the source.

Two men had a woman backed into a corner. They weren't armed from what Spiderman could see, but their attention was clearly not wanted.

"No need to scream sweetheart," one man was saying, "We don't wanna hurt ya! Just give up the purse and that pretty little necklace yer wearin' and we'll be on our way."

"T-take it. Please," She begged, "please don't hurt me!"

Just as the second man reached out for the offered bag Spiderman pinned him to the alley wall with a web.

"What's up fellas? I hope you aren't planning on wearing that purse with those shoes! Major fashion no-no!" He quipped.

"Get lost freak before I hide this blade in your eye!" The first man sneered pulling out a switch blade. The woman gave an audible whimper and tried to back farther into the brick building.

Spiderman didn't like the look of terror on the woman's face, so he promptly cleared the fire escape catching the second man in the face with a falling knee. Before he could recover two more webs stapled him in place.

The purse had been dropped and its contents were laying on the concrete, so Spiderman quickly gathered everything together and handed it towards the women.

"I believe you dropped this ma'am." He said politely, "There is a cop cruiser sitting a block down at the corner store. You should make your way there!"

"Th-thank you!" She squeaked, "Thank you so much!"

She grabbed the purse and ran from the alley without a single look back.

"Freak, when I get out of this I am going cut out your intestines! You little fu…"

What ever the man was going to say was cut short by a web across his mouth.

"Shhhhhh," Spiderman cooed, "No one wants to hear you finish that thought!"

With that Spiderman scaled the closest building and continued on his way. Leaving only thin webs hanging from the building to dissolve in his wake.

By six thirty Peter was back in his normal clothes and heading for the grocery store.

Delmar was gone for the day, but his part timer was always willing to help Peter out. They picked out some noodles and sauce and some fresh hamburger.

After paying, it was a mad dash back to the apartment. He skidded to a stop about two blocks away when something caught his eye.

"Score!" He mumbled as he added a discarded computer tower to his already full arms. Thankfully his enhanced strength aided him on the rest of the jaunt home.

It took two failed attempted to juggle his purchases before he finally got his key in the lock and got inside.

He left the computer on the table and took the rest into the kitchen.

With an hour before May got home it would be pushing it.

The meal turned out quite edible and May was beyond grateful. It had been a long day and the hot food was so nice.

While Peter served himself another helping of spaghetti he noticed that May's blinks were getting longer and longer.

"May?" He inquired softly, "May?" He smiled then added a bit louder, "May, go to bed! I can clean this up and you need sleep before your weekend shifts!"

She flinched awake at that and gave Peter a small smile.

"Alright hun," she said kissing his forehead, "Thank you. You have no idea what this means!"

Peter was a bit relieved when May disappeared up stairs because he didn't have to be self conscience about what he was about to do.

He moved the almost full pot of noodles in front of him and managed to scarf the whole thing down in record time.

His metabolism would burn through it quick enough, but it was nice to feel full for once.

After cleaning up, Peter went upstairs to do what homework he had so he wouldn't have to worry about it all weekend. He barely had to think about what he was writing to get though it all, nothing was very challenging.

He tinkered with the old computer tower for a bit before he was certain his aunt was truly asleep. He hadn't been planning on going out again that night but with a full stomach and energy to spare he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep.

It was getting late and Spiderman was just thinking he should start heading home when his enhanced hearing picked up some commotion a bit farther out of his normal patrol route.

Not one to pass up a chance to serve his city he swung through the buildings with ease trying to locate what he had heard.

He landed on a high roof top and peered over the side cautiously. There was an armed robbery going on below him, but the cops were already there. They had flood lights trained on the building, people were yelling from inside and out, and there were crowds of people gathering to watch.

There was no way he could really help here and by the sounds of the police scanners there was already someone inside that may or may not be a vigilante. So, with a shrug Spiderman decided to move on, just as he was a floodlight below was knocked over sending the blinding beam skywards, but not before burning into the web-slingers eyes.

It was like a switch went off in his head. Suddenly all the sounds and lights broke through his subconscious and assaulted him at once. Pain exploded inside his head and Spiderman scurried back into the shadows of the roof, hands tenderly holding his skull while trying to block his ears as well.

A knife in his gut would have felt better then his current hell.

He had to get back to his apartment. He couldn't be out on an exposed roof top, helpless.

Gritting his teeth through the pain of opening his eyes he made himself focus on a building to his left.

He pushed himself to his feet and took a couple wobbly steps before firing his web and leaping.

To his credit he managed the first swing and even managed to get the web shooter off a second time. But the second one was at a poor angle and with his mind being pulled in a thousand different directions at once he didn't have time to register the metal fire escape.

With a loud 'Ooaf' his midsection hit a protruding bar and he lost his grip. He tumbled down into the alley and cried out when his back slapped into the pavement with his head hitting second.

It took several minutes for him to get his breath back but when he did his mind exploded again with input. Thousands of voices, every sweat drop or hair touching his skin, the smell of garbage and mold, and all the lights tried to register at once causing another wave of panic and pain.

He couldn't get his breath, so he tore away his mask trying to get much needed air while frantically trying to cover both his eyes and ears in an attempt to shut it off.

The thankfully abandoned alley filled with his sad whimpers as the young hero fought for his own sanity.

There was no way Peter could have heard the faint footsteps coming towards him in his current state, and his Spidey sense didn't alert him to any danger, but when he did hear some one speak it seemed so loud it felt like someone hit him in the head with a hammer.

"Hang in there kiddo, I know what you need."

Strong arms carefully hoisted the boy up bridal style.

With a finale whimper Peter passed out.

It was well into Saturday before Peter was able to open his eyes. Thankfully the pain had subsided. He had dealt with the sensory overload a few times before but nothing quite as intense as that had been.

His surroundings started to come into focus and all's Peter could do was stare, confused.

He was in a soft queen-sized bed with simple but clean sheets. The studio style bedroom had no lights, nor windows but did have a simple wood sliding door.

Peter suddenly remembered his mask. He reached up and had to fight back a panic attack when he realized it was still off. In it's place though were a pair of construction grade noise cancelling headphones.

Carefully he removed them and set them on the bed.

As quietly as he could he got to his feet and crept to the sliding door. It opened easy enough and without a sound.

His bare feet had barely touched the living room floor when a voice made him jump.

"I was wondering when you would be up."

Peter twisted around to see a man, probably in his thirties, standing in the kitchen area. He was wearing simple sweats and a t-shirt but was obviously in good shape. His brown hair was slightly messy, and he held a coffee cup in one hand.

Most curious was his round, red tinted, sunglasses. Yes, it was about noon and bright outside, but inside the apartment it was anything but.

"Uh, uh … hi? So, where am I? How did I get here? Who are you? Where's my stuff? I remember the alley …" Peter suddenly found his voice and started with all the questions his mind could throw out.

The man straightened at the sudden bombardment of questions but with a slight smirk he held his hands out and made a calming motion.

"Easy! Easy! You are at my apartment, in Hell's kitchen, I found you in an alley having an episode. I know what it's like to have an overload, so I brought you back here, you had some injuries as well to your ribs and head, so I took the liberty to patch them up as best as I could. Your things are all on the sofa to your right and you are free to leave when you feel up to it." The man answered swiftly with a confidence that was disarming.

Peter looked down his naked torso to the bandage around his middle he hadn't even noticed.

"I guess I should be thanking you, Mr. … " Peter said slowly.

"Murdock. Matthew Murdock."


	2. Chapter 2

Thankfully his Aunt May had went to work early that morning, so she had not tried to wake Peter up. She would have lost it had the teen not been in his bed.

It was almost four in the afternoon when Spider-man crawled through his bed room window. He waited a moment to make sure no one was home before dropping lightly to the floor.

He was exhausted. The whole ordeal was draining. He flopped onto his bed, barely able to wiggle free from his costume. He half heartedly shoved it under his bed before passing out into a deep sleep.

A loud knock sounded at the front door that sent Peter straight up to the ceiling. He hung there for a moment trying to get his bearings before realization dawned.

"Oh no! Ned!"

Without meaning to his sticky fingers let go of their hold and Peter crashed into the floor.

"Ow," he muttered touching the back of his head. Thankfully the cut back there was healed but it was still a bit sore.

He quickly grabbed a pair of pajama pants and a t-shirt before stumbling out of his room to throw open the door.

He really should have checked the peep hole first because it was not Ned standing there. In fact, glancing at the clock, showed that Ned wasn't due to arrive in another hour.

"Hello?" Peter asked, unsure. The man standing outside the door was a tall, well dressed, and professional.

"Hello, Mr. Parker?" He inquired.

"Yes?"

"My name is James Wesley." He began before stepping into the apartment without invitation. "I am a lawyer and wish to speak to you about an acquaintance of yours."

Peter kept the door wide open and looked the man up and down. Aunt May would expect him to be polite but this arrogant man was setting off his spidey senses.

"Sure Mr. Wesley, you can speak, but do you mind doing it in the hall? My aunt doesn't like strangers in the house."

The lawyer looked around the apartment taking in the worn furniture and family photos.

"And where is your beautiful aunt now? He asked pointing at one of the photos, "Is she home?"

Peter glared at him but still answered politely.

"No, she is at work, but she will be home very soon. Perhaps you should wait for her to get back." Peter suggested.

The man shrugged, unconcerned about the not so subtle hints the teen was leaving.

"This won't take long." He said the reached above Peter gripping the door to close it. The teen knew better then to fight it, he didn't want this man to realize he had super strength.

Still he couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding as the door closed. His senses were screaming so loud he had to take a couple steps back from the man just to be able to breathe.

"Alright," Peter snapped, his tone stronger then he felt, "Who are we talking about?"

The lawyer held up a security photo of Peter clearly in the arms of Hells Kitchen's very own Daredevil.

Peter groaned internally, no one really knew Spider-man yet so at least his red and blue hoodie didn't raise that question but he still cursed himself for removing the mask.

What did confuse him was that Mr. Murdock had said he had found him in that alley and took him home … oh.

It suddenly clicked in Peter's head and he realized it wasn't his identity that this man before him was rooting for.

"Daredevil," Peter said, "Yeah, good guy. Helped me out last night when I had a seizure."

"Do you know him?" The lawyer demanded.

"Yeah, Daredevil, I just said that. His picture is all over the news papers and T.V. Look Mr. Wesley, I don't know what you want me to say, I had a seizure last night, they make it so I don't remember much! He helped me off the street is all."

The lawyer had a look that clearly showed he did not believe the teen.

"You weren't admitted to any hospital last night; no emergency calls were made regarding anyone fitting your description. Where did the man take you?"

"What do you want with him?" Peter suddenly asked, "He is just looking out for the city and he saved me, so I don't feel comfortable saying anything."

The man was annoyed. Very annoyed.

"Answer the question boy. When you woke up, where were you? What building, what part of town."

Peter opened the door and put on his stubborn teen face. He might not be able to do mean or intimidating but what teen couldn't do stubborn.

"Sorry you had to waste your time coming down here Mr. Wesley. I don't remember anything. Have a good day."

The man looked as though he wasn't going to leave before he finally put on a passive face and turned on his heel. He paused long enough to look down his nose at the boy.

"If you remember anything about the dangerous vigilante, I expect to be the first one you call." He handed Peter a card then left.

Peter wasn't sure, but he thought he was just threatened.

His mood was subdued when Ned got there but quickly cheered up once they delved into the star trek box set and snacks May had left in the fridge.

By the time Monday came around he forgot about the lawyer completely.

Monday turned out to be a pretty dull day even though his spider senses kept spiking at random. He never saw anything around when they did but he suspected that they were warning him Flash was up to something.

Sure enough at the end of the day Peter found himself shoved into a brick wall with Flash and his goons surrounding him. In order to hide his secret, he didn't fight back but he did well enough to avoid most of the really hard punches.

They gave up on the game of 'Beat Peter to a pulp' when Flash missed with a punch and probably broke his hand on the wall behind him. Trying to save face in front of his friends he gave Peter a hard shove to the ground before leaving.

"Are you alright?" Ned asked as he rushed over. He helped Peter to his feet and brushed some dirk off his sweater.

"Yeah I am fine, he barely even got me," Peter mumbled, "Though I am pretty sure he broke his hand. So, score one for me!"

"Nice," Ned agreed.

The two walked for a bit talking about the new Lego set Ned had got for his birthday. Eventually they got to the spot they split ways.

"See ya later Peter!"

"Bye Ned!"

As Peter turned, he still couldn't help but notice his Spidey-sense had not cooled down any. He looked around just to make sure there was nothing going on before chalking it up to nerves.

Had he been more experienced he might have noticed a few shadows on the nearby building, or that a van had circled the block at least twice. As it was, he never thought someone would want to kidnap Peter Parker, Spider-man sure, but not plain old Peter.

The shock of a van speeding up onto the curb just ahead of him and five men jumping out made him freeze for just a moment. Peter had time to take a single step back before a figure appeared behind him and a needle was jammed into the base of his neck.

What ever was in the needle worked fast, fast enough his healing factor couldn't stop it before it knocked him out.

His consciousness returned gradually, well before the kidnappers figured it would at least.

He laid very still and listened to everything going on around him.

The building he was currently located on top of was close to the water and creaked eerily with the wind. By the number of rats and the feces smell it was abandoned. He could hear several men located in strategic spots around his location, but it was only the two in front of him that spoke.

They were far enough away no one with normal hearing could have caught it, but fortunate for him he could hear every word.

"When the boy is awake, we are going to let Deets have his way. The boy's screams will bring in the man in the mask."

"The devil is all about saving people, sure, but how do we know he will come for this kid specifically?"

"The boss made sure to leave enough evidence for the police to broadcast the kids kidnapping. Including his name. He is sure the devil knows the boy. He will come." He paused and took a sharp drag off his cigarette. "And if not, well, the kid will send a good message to any one that opposes us! We will hang his body off the Queensborough bridge."

Peter had heard quite enough to know he was not sticking around for this. With so many eyes on him though he had to be careful so with as little movement as possible he tested his bonds. They were well done but he could break them. Once he broke them though he was gonna have a fight on his hands, a fight that would expose him as the Spider-man.

"Alright, calm down Peter, calm down. You are Spider-man! You can figure this out."

"Spiderman."

The sudden voice made Peter jump, thankfully not enough to give away he was awake.

"Can you hear me Spider-man?"

The voice was not close but Peter could pick up the words easy enough. He hoped that Daredevil could hear him whisper.

"Yes."

"Good. Listen carefully and we will get you out of this with your body and identity in tact."

"OK." Peter was willing to trust the man to deliver on that promise.

"Can you get yourself free?"

"Yes. But not without a pretty obvious display of strength."

"That's fine, I am going to cause a distraction. When it happens get to your feet and bolt to the north side of the building. Jump. Don't worry there is large garbage bin there that will cushion the fall. Once you are down break the ropes and get yourself out of here!"

"I am not leaving you here to fight them all by yourself!"

"I can handle it kid. Just get yourself to safety ok?"

Peter sighed.

"Fine." He was about to ask what the distraction would be when a sudden explosion shook the building. A huge fire ball to the south of the building lit up the sky. "Subtle." Peter muttered as he pulled himself to his feet.

Running with his arms tied behind his back and the drugs still floating around his system was not easy. It felt like the roof was moving as he made his way north.

A yell alerted him to the men noticing his escape.

When he got to the ledge, he liked to think he had fearlessly jumped but it was mostly just him tripped over his heavy feet and falling headfirst into a dumpster full of shredded paper.

With an exaggerated flex of his arms he snapped the ropes binding him and pulled himself out of the dumpster. Gun shots above him cause him to duck his head and throw himself into the first form of cover. Another dumpster.

"After the kid! He can't be allowed to live!"

Peter wished he had his web shooters, but he had to make do with what he had. He grabbed the first thing that he could, a garbage can lid, and waited. As he heard the first bad guys foot steps get closer he jumped out and threw the lid much like he idol Captain America would have.

The metal smashed the man in the face sending a spray of blood across the wall. Peter didn't have time to flinch at the damage, he was literally fighting for his life. He came in behind the lid and punched the man with enough force to knock him out but not kill him.

A bullet clipped the wall directly above the boy's head. Peter dropped into a roll and bolted down a dark alley.

At least three men were hunting him, and he counted ten still up top trying to find Daredevil.

"Three. Ok. I can handle three." He muttered.

He found a shady corner and used his spider powers to climb the sheer wall to sit in wait much like a real spider would.

He let the first two men run past his location. The third he jumped on from behind.

He was aware he didn't have his mask so he didn't want the men to see him, he was banking on the bad guys thinking it was Daredevil that took them out.

Peter pulled the man down from the back of his coat and connected a hard right hand into his ear before continuing with the downward motion and smacking the back of the guys head off the pavement.

Peter couldn't help but cringe.

"Sorry dude, I know that hurts like hell. But you are a bad guy and you deserve it!" Peter quipped quietly.

Peter jumped and stuck to the side of the wall when a voice spoke directly in his ear.

"I thought I told you to leave?"

Peter grabbed his heart.

"Jeeze, man, warn a guy before you sneak up on him like that!" Peter hopped down and eyed the Daredevil. "How do you do that?"

"It's a long story, I lost my eye sight when …"

"No, no, not that," Peter clarified staring at the older hero, "How do you get your voice to go all deep and superhero-y? I can't do it! I tried! It's like a hero prerequisite, right? Can you say, 'I am Batman!'? Please?"

To his credit Daredevil didn't crack a smile, though he wanted too.

"Come on Spider-boy. Let's get you home. The cops say your Aunt is at the station causing hell!"

Peter's face dropped.

"Oh no, they don't know what they have unleashed!"

This time Daredevil did grin.


	3. Chapter 3

Spider-man was just about to swing into the commotion on West 45th street when a hand grabbed his shoulder and pulled him into the shadows.

He yelped and turned to fight while silently cursing his spidey-sense for not alerting him to the danger. Thankfully his friend had good reflexes and blocked the punch.

"Easy Spider-boy, just me," Daredevil grumbled.

"Geeze man, give a Spider a heart attack!"

The other Red vigilante snickered.

"You should be relying on all your senses more, not just that weird sixth one of yours," He noted joining the teen on the building edge, "Also, you should definitely avoid that mess down there."

Spider-man looked down and frowned.

"The cops are after someone, I assumed it was a bad guy. What's the problem?" He asked.

"Not everything is so black and white kid, although we have a moral compass from crossing over that ultimate line not everyone does. Frank Castle being a good example. Yes, he kills, only those who deserves it he believes, but still how can one justify taking a life. Makes us just as bad as them in my opinion." He ended with a frown and a shrug.

"So, is that who they are hunting? Frank Castle?" Spider-man crotched down and studied the cops running around in a blind frenzy. He inwardly cringed at thinking of that analogy seeing as he was right beside an actual blind man.

"No," Daredevil admitted, tilting his head to get a better listen to the going-ons. "They are after someone even more deadly and seeing as we are dressed a little too similar to him we should move back."

Spider-man felt the twinge in the back of his neck just as Daredevil spoke. Both of them dove back into the shadows as flood lights suddenly lit up the entire building and a bullet ricocheted of the brick. The Devil of Hells kitchen nodded his head the opposite way and Spider-man couldn't help but agree.

The two slipped away from the scene before a jumpy cop took them out instead of their actual target.

Once a safe distance away, where they could both still pick up the police scanners but couldn't be seen they took a seat on the roof to finish their conversation.

"So, is our unique fashion sense influencing pop culture or what?" Spider-man demanded.

If the Devil could see in the conventional way, Spider-man would have sworn he gave the kids blue and red sweater and jogging pants a disdainful look. It was obvious enough that the teen flushed red in the face.

"Not all of us have friends in high places," he muttered as he picked at a stray string.

Daredevil couldn't help but crack a smile at the sullen teen.

"Maybe you should let me introduce you to my friend," he thought out loud, "You could use some extra protection. How are those ribs?"

Spider-man stiffened. It was true, he had three cracked ribs from a car chase that had went south, but his healing factor was working so by tomorrow they'd be nothing but a memory.

"Fine," he muttered when he realized Daredevil was still waiting for an answer. "Anyway, who were the cops looking for?"

"A man in red and black leather," the man started but was cut off.

"Sounds like a bad sex fetish," Spider-man mused. He froze when Daredevil smacked him up the back of the head. "Right, sorry. Bad guy. Go."

"His name is Wade Wilson, or better known as Deadpool. Black and red suit, full mask, but not a vigilante. He is a mercenary. Rumor is he only take's out bad guys but doesn't much care who pays him to do it. Can't confirm any of that though, can only say for sure he likes to kill. In some pretty grewsome ways."

Spider-man pulled a face that was lost behind the mask, but Daredevil seemed to pick it up.

"Alright kid, enough patrolling for tonight. I don't need to hear that you got shot by some cop. Come on, I really am going to introduce you to my friend."

If the mask hadn't been covering his ears Spider-man was sure Daredevil would have opted to grab one and haul him along. Sensing his friends' discomfort though Spider-man did not fight it.

Four hours later Peter was back in his Aunt's apartment sprawled out on his bed. Daredevil had taken him to a strange warehouse were an odd, large muscular man measured him for a suit. He seemed nice and was happy to help the Devil of hells kitchen.

With explicit instructions not to go out till he had at least some protection Peter was already antsy sitting around his room. He could be sleeping. Should be sleeping. But after waking up from the last nightmare twenty minutes ago he wasn't keen on trying again.

Silently as possible he got out of bed and got dressed. May wouldn't be up for another two hours, so he didn't feel too bad slipping out the window and climbing down the fire escape like a good civilian.

Spider-man had promised not to go out, Peter Parker hadn't promised anything. The fact they were one and the same was a technicality that he didn't care to explore.

The street was quiet and empty so Peter walked unopposed, mind a million miles away.

It was a commotion on the roof to his left that finally pulled him from his musings. He was well aware that he was not in his suit, and that the single web shooter he had put on wasn't going to be easily explained if he had to use it, but his curiosity got the better of him.

He used the fire escape again just to be sure his identity stayed in tact.

Silently he stepped onto the roof's edge, crotched low and listened. The fighting was coming from the next roof over to his right. His well-worn sneakers made no sound as he crossed the expense at a swift pace. His spidey-sense tingled non-stop as he got closer to what ever was going on.

Two men were locked in a battle on top of a smaller office building. Flashes or metal told Peter they were both armed, and small bursts of blood told him they weren't afraid to use the weapons. It was intense. Which was why Peter could not for the life of him, figure out why the big, muscular guy in red and black leather was singing What is Love? By Haddaway.

Peter was still pretty fresh to the game, so he hadn't seen many things that made him want to vomit. But when a katana made its way through the second man's eye Peter was doomed to feel the sick urge well up in his stomach. The sight of the blood and the body go limp was too close to watching Ben's body do the same thing.

"Geeze!" Peter groaned as he turned away from the scene and leaned his head over the other side of the building. Slowly his stomach calmed a bit, though the sight was still seared into the back of his eyelids.

His spidey-sense screamed at him and Peter threw himself into a backwards roll away from where he had been trying not to lose his supper. He stopped with feet tucked underneath him in case he had to make another quick move. The big guy was standing there with a very expressive look on his mask, which was weird in itself.

"Hi!" He chimed happily, "Enjoying the show?"

"W-what show? Geeze man, you just turned that guy into a human kabob!" Peter stuttered waving vaguely at the other roof where he was sure the body still was, though he was not inclined to look to confirm.

The man shrugged, obviously unphased by the taking of a man's life.

"M'name's Deadpool, and I do love my fuckin' job! Can you believe some one actually pays me to do this?"

Peter though he was going to be sick again and groaned lightly as he looked away from the man.

"You alright there Babyboy? Don't go blowing chunks on me eh? Cause if you do, I will too, and let me tell you cleaning that out of my mask fucking sucks!" Deadpool explained in much to much detail. "You know, you shouldn't feel bad for the shit-stain over there. He did some pretty nasty things to some very small kids. Courts couldn't hold him, so a little girls father found a different way to help keep the monster's out of his daughter room."

Peter blinked as the mercenary seemed to be trying to justify himself. Why he cared what Peter thought was a mystery, but Peter found himself nodding.

"OK. I believe you," Peter offered swallowing the pre-throw up spit in his mouth with distaste. "I just, I've never seen anyone … anyone get killed like that."

Peter stood and shifted nervously as the Merc watched him with his head tilted slightly to the side.

"Well, don't dwell too much on it Babyboy." Deadpool sat on the edge of the building facing away from the body letting his feet swing like a kid would do. "Sooooooo, what brings a pretty young thang like you up here? Not running away are ya?"

"No," Peter confirmed happy to turn his back on the office building, "I couldn't sleep. Decided to go for a walk and I heard you guys fighting. Curiosity got the better of me I guess."

Deadpool tut-tutted him.

"Curiosity killed the dolphin!"

Peter paused.

"What? Don't you mean …"

Deadpool cut him off with so much intensity behind his voice Peter backed away a step.

"No. Just no! Don't say it! Cats are not curious! Cats are the stoners of the animal kingdom! Kitty cat just don't give a fuck!" The last part was emphasized by the snapping of his fingers in a zigzag fashion. "Now dolphins, that is a curious critter. Give 'um time kiddo, and those slippery little bastards will rule the world!"

Peter wasn't quite sure how the merc managed it, but he made him laugh. An honest laugh right from his belly.

Deadpool seemed to consider him for a moment before hoping to his feet with a smile.

"Alright Babyboy," he announced, "You have convinced me! I will walk you home!"

"No, that's alright. I can take care of myself!" Peter tried but Deadpool wouldn't let it go.

"Nope, come on! Uncy Deadpool is gonna walk that underaged, jailbait, butt of yours home! I'd feel terrible if something happened to you."

Peter scrunched his nose up at that. The fifteen-year-old had not had the pleasure of a grown man commenting on his butt and he did not like it.

Deadpool simply laughed at the kicked-puppy dog look the teen was giving him.

Peter wasn't given much time to dwell on it though because his aunt would be waking up soon and he needed to be in bed when her alarm sounded.

"Fine, fine. Let's go before people start getting up and calling the cops on the armed, walking condom!"

Deadpool snickered at that and followed Peter to the ground humming 'Baby got back'.

Peter watched the man carefully, surprised that his spidey-sense hadn't gone off since he startled him on the roof. Still, he wished he could lose the man before getting to his apartment. He wasn't sure if Deadpool knowing where he lived was a good thing.

The opportunity never arose, and Peter was taken back when they arrived at his apartment building soon after. The two had been engaged in a serious debate over the best sandwiches in New York and the walk flew by.

"This is me," Peter said. "Ah, thanks for making sure I got home safe."

"No problem. Thanks for not throwing up back there, I might have felt bad. Stay safe Babyboy!"

Peter gave a little wave over his shoulder as he disappeared between the buildings and started up the fire escape. No one needed to see him sneaking in at this ungodly hour.

Once inside he closed his window and with a slight hesitation locked it. Next time he seriously needed to listen to Matt.

Two days later a knocked sounded at the front door. Peter happily bounded over to look through the peephole.

With a wide grin he threw open the door.

"Hey Mr. Murdock! What are you doing in Queens?"

"Hello Peter." Matthew said, never being able to keep the smile off his face when dealing with the energetic teen. "I thought I would bring this over, your Aunt is gone."

Peter took the package not commenting on how Matthew knew that his aunt wasn't there.

"Cool! Yeah! Come on in Mr. Murdock!"

As the packaging feel away Peter couldn't contain his whistle. The Spider-man suit was a far cry from his current hoodie. The snug red and blue cloth laced with a special type of black Kevlar was impressive. A spider emblem was weaved into the design on his chest.

"What do you think?" Mathew asked, "It pretty simple, offers a bit of protection at least and might make you a bit more intimidating out there."

"Well yeah! Who isn't afraid of a fricken' spider?" Peter said, "Creepy, eight legged freaks!" He added under his breath, though Matthew heard and laughed anyway.


	4. Chapter 4

Peter's life was getting pretty complicated and he didn't like it.

His new suit had brought him a bit of prestige in New York's under belly and the criminals were finally taking him seriously. What sucked about that was it wasn't just the criminals that were starting to take notice.

The more videos and eye witness testimonies that made their way out, the more men in black suits were seen on the roof tops. Men in black, armed with tranquilizer darts and stun guns. Spider-man had attempted to find out what the men actually wanted but it turned out they weren't much for talking.

Somebody wanted him brought in alive and that was almost as scary as thugs trying to kill him. He had an image of himself strapped to some examination table with doctors in long white lab coats standing around him with needles and scalpels.

Being dissected like some frog in science class was just not very appealing.

And if Spider-man's government wack-jobs weren't enough to deal with Peter Parker's new self-imposed BFF Deadpool wasn't making things any easier.

Peter glanced around nervously as he entered his apartment building. Satisfied no one was following him he pulled out his key and his door.

"Hey May," Peter called as he came in.

"Hi hun, how was school?"

"Ok. Do we have anything to eat?"

May came around the corner smoothing out her work shirt.

"Of course, hun. Lasagnas in the oven. Are you sure you will be ok to spend the night by yourself? I don't want to pull a double shift, but Marlene was in such a bind!" May sighed.

"It's alright May," He said as he wrapped his Aunt in a hug the she so sorely needed. May sucked up the physical affection with a huge smile. "Have a good night May, I will be fine, love you!"

"Alright sweetie, love you too!" She gave him a kiss on the cheek and headed out.

Peter didn't wait to grab a plate, he simply sat at the kitchen table with the casserole dish of cheesy noodle greatness and stuffed his face until every last bite was gone and his stomach was happily full.

Once the dishes were put away he flopped on the sofa and chose a movie to be lazy to. He was taking the night off, even though it was causing him anxiety to do so, it seemed like the logical thing seeing as the hit teams were out and about in force.

His leg tapped rhythmically on the couch arm as he half watched the movie, half swiped though his phone.

Ned texted him a few times but mostly just to send him inappropriate memes. The kind people usually felt bad for laughing at but laughed all the same.

"What are we watching?" Deadpool asked as he materialized out of nowhere to lift Peter's legs so he could sit down, making sure to plop said legs into his lap once he was situated.

It took a moment for Peter to come out of his shock. The Merc with a mouth continued to scare the hell out of him on a regular basis. His spidey-sense didn't register him and even his super-human hearing never caught a sound when the man was sneaking around.

"Shaun of the dead," Peter answered slowly, "How the hell did you get in here Wade?"

Deadpool gave him a look that clearly said the teen asked a stupid question.

"How does anyone enter an apartment?" The man asked seriously, "Through the locked and bolted window, that is no longer locker nor bolted! You need a new lock by the way, that one is WAY to easy to jimmy!"

Of course he broke in. What other answer did Peter expect to get?

Peter sighed but did not move from his spot. He had become way to used to Wade just appearing.

As much as Peter knew the man was dangerous, he couldn't help but feel the Merc needed a friend and to have a little more human contact with people that weren't killers. Besides, if Deadpool was sitting with him on the sofa watching movies he wasn't out killing people.

Peter snickered at a meme on his phone and promptly showed Wade, who also laughed out loud.

When Peter woke up the next day Wade was gone but had left him a picture drawn in crayon of the two of them watching tv together.

Breakfast was short affair seeing as Peter was in rush to pull his suit on and go out for a day time patrol.

His anxiety from the night before disappeared as he swung across the city and webbed up bad guys.

Sticking carefully to the wall, Spider-man reached out and gently plucked the frightened kitten from the window ledge. Tucking the cute bundle of fur under his chin he made his way back up to the next floor.

"Here ya go, safe and sound!" He stated holding the kitten out to a scared eight-year-old. She broke into a huge grin and hugged her kitten tight.

"Oh, thank you Spider-man! Thank you so much!" She squealed.

"Happy to help!" He commented then shot a web and swung out over the street backwards giving her a salute before turning to snag his next target. A moment later he landed lightly on a high-rise roof with good feeling in his chest.

Muscles tensed, and he dove off to the side before jumping to perch on a chimney. Two darts skipped away after hitting the metal roof. From his perch he could hear the men yell into their comms.

"Suspect sighted at 77th and Elliot Ave. All units converge! Non-lethals only!"

"Ah come on guys! What the hell? Where were you five minutes ago when I rescued a kitten? Doesn't that at least give me a good deed pass for the day?"

The closest men refused to answer him and instead fired at him again. Spider-man did a pretty side aerial with a twist to avoid the projectiles. In mid air he shot both men with webs, effectively gluing their hands and weapons into one sticky ball.

"As such as I want to sit and talk about this, I don't think you guys are ready for a heart to heart. See ya!"

"Target on the move. Heading north. Call in the big guns!"

Big guns? Spider-man was just contemplating who or what was the big guns when cold metal hands snagged him out of the air and started to lift him even higher.

"What the hell?!" He screamed seeing the ground fall away. He twisted enough to see the shiny red and gold of Ironman. "Dude! I'd love to properly fanboy at this moment, but I am pretty sure you have the wrong guy!"

"Sorry Spiderling, the bosses have some questions for you and weren't to happy when you made their agents look like untrained fools last week!"

"It's Spider-man! And sense when," he twisted in the grip, so he faced his captor properly, "Do you take orders from anyone?" He emphasized his question but tucking his knees into his chest and kicking out with both feet into the Ironman chin.

The force behind the kick snapped the suits head back and knocked Ironman off course slightly. It also loosened his grip enough that Spider-man pushed off him and broke his hold. Of course, that meant the super teen was now free falling from several storeys up.

"Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!" He chanted like a mantra before his web caught a building, unfortunately the angle was all wrong and his arms seared in pain as he jerked to a sudden stop. The momentum snapped his hold and he slammed into a roof.

One leg twisted underneath of him send out a whole new level of pain.

"Mother fu.." Spider-man whimpered into his hand.

"Language!"

Ah-no, really? What the hell did he do to deserve having both Captain America and Ironman coming after him!?

Spider-man looked up at the national icon with a mixture of awe, confusion and fear.

Ironman landed on the other side of the roof.

"Alright Fury, he is grounded. Hurry up, I am missing one hell of a party in my tower to do you this little favor!"

Spider-man attempted to stand so that he could make a break away, but his leg seared in pain as soon as he put any weight on it. Too stubborn for his own good though, he remained upright.

"So, what's this then? Intervention? Did I save one too many kittens? Is there a cap on how many thieves I can wed up? Ohhhh did I accidently leave foot prints up your building and you need me to wipe them off?"

The Ironman helmet lifted, and Tony Stark looked back at him with a superior smirk.

"Can it, web-head. You have some explaining to do to SHIELD."

Spider-man was clearly confused at this statement. He looked over at Captain America, specifically his shield.

"It talks? Did you put an AI in it or something? What does it need to know?" He slapped his hands to his face in mock horror, "What does it already know!?" Obviously he had spent way too much time with Wade, the man's sense of humor was wearing off on him.

Both men stopped, looked at each other then back to the vigilante. Before they could comment on the obvious ridiculousness of the entire conversation a third man joined them on the roof.

"Nice eye patch," Spider-man found himself saying before thinking. "Very pirate-esk."

The man's steps faltered just a little before regaining his demanding presence.

"Spider-man, it is a pleasure to finally meet you!" the man said, "I am Nick Fury of SHIELD."

"And?" Spider-man urged when there was a dramatic pause at the end of this statement. "If that is supposed to mean something to me, I'm sorry, I have no idea. Want to just give me the short notes so we can get on with this? I gotta get home!"

"We make it a point to have all enhanced human on our radar and your little star is just shining so bright these days. I want to make sure you aren't going to be a threat." The man stated bluntly. "I am going to need you to come with me so we can clear your identification and make sure there is nothing hidden in your life that is going to come back and bite us in the ass!"

Spider-man stiffened. He didn't want to give his identity to anyone, and he certainly didn't want to go with this man, even if he had Ironman and Captain America backing him.

"Ummm, I feel like I should be allowed to confer with my lawyer on that." He blurted out.

The three adults shared a look of confusion.

Spider-man decided that maybe his stall to give him more time to think wasn't such a bad idea. He reached inside his suit to a convenient little cell pouch that Matt had been smart enough to have put in and called the man.

Spider-man held a finger up to Fury, telling him to wait a minute before he could interrupt him.

Thankfully Matt picked up.

"Hey, Mr. Murdock, sir," Spider-man whispered into the phone, knowing Matt would be able to hear him but Captain America's enhanced hearing couldn't.

"Peter, what's wrong?" Matt demanded hearing the stress behind the words.

"Um, I was out patrolling and those guys with the sedatives started chasing me again. I avoided them easy enough but apparently, they work for some organization called SHIELD? Long story short, I am standing on a roof top with Director Nick Fury, Ironman and Captain America and they are telling me I need to go with them and give up my identity 'cause national security or some shit."

There was a long pause in which Spider-man glanced at the three men to make sure they didn't move. Finally, Matt spoke.

"OK, Peter. Put me on speaker phone please," Matt instructed.

Spider-man clicked the speaker phone and limped close enough for Fury to hear what Matt had to say. Ironman snickered at the out of date, severely beaten phone, the teen tried to ignore him.

"Mr. Fury is it?" Matt demanded.

"Yes," Fury drawled, clearly annoyed by this turn of events. "My name is Matthew Murdock, perhaps you have heard of me? I represent Frank Castle."

Fury perked up a bit at that.

"Yes, I know who you are Mr. Murdock. Care to tell me why I cam talking to you now?"

"You have essentially violated every human right of my client as a US citizen!"

"How do I know he is a US citizen?" Fury countered, "For all I know he is a Russian sleeper agent playing the good guy before he strikes. I have seen his skills Mr. Murdock and I can not let him swing around this city without having reassurances."

"I understand your predicament Mr. Fury, but I will not allow you to make an example out of my client. He hides his identity in order to protect the ones he loves."

"There is no legal path for you to take on this Matthew. You can't take an agency to court when they out rank the court." Fury smiled at this and took a step towards Spider-man.

"I don't need a legal avenue on this one Nick." Matt said, his voice deadly calm, "I will simple expose you for the heartless organization that you are. The average American family will shake when they hear about SHIELD, they will wonder if these men in black are going to show up in their neighbor hood and kidnap their children."

There was silence after that. A deep silence.

Spider-man could follow Matt's reasoning, but he wasn't fond of the current parties knowing he was a kid.

Finally, Captain America spoke.

"How old are you?" He asked Spider-man in a voice that clearly showed he was not happy with cornering a child.

Spider-man shrugged nervously.

"Answer him," Matt urged softly.

"Fifteen." He finally admitted. Captain America threw his hands up and turned away from the scene.

"Fifteen?! Geeze Fury, we are up here harassing a kid!" He growled.

"That bit of information, although concerning, doesn't change the fact I need an ID." Fury sighed after a moment.

"I understand. Here is what we are going to do." Matt said in a tone that clearly held no room for arguing. "You are going to let my client go. He is going to come to me. Together we will meet you at, let's say STARK tower, in two hours and we will discuss options then. Does that suit you Mr. Fury?"

Fury didn't answer because it was obvious Matt didn't care if that suited him or not, that was how this was going to be.

"Spider-man, take me off speaker phone," Came the next demand from the lawyer.

Spider-man did as he asked and held the phone to his ear as all three adults stared at him with a range of emotions.

"Did that work?" Matt asked.

"Uh-huh," Spider-man answered, not breaking eye contact.

"Good. Can you get here?"

"I think I messed my leg up," the teen confessed. Both Ironman and Captain America looked up in concern.

"Shit. Ok Pete, swing as far away from that roof top as you can get then call me back. I will come get you."

"Alright Mr. Murdock, thanks."

Spider-man hung up the phone and tucked it away in the pouch. Eyeing the men wearily he took a step towards the edge of the building. No body moved so Spider-man threw himself over the side and swung away quickly.

Two hours later Peter found himself limping, sans suit, into STARK tower with Matthew Murdock by his side.


	5. Chapter 5

Peter felt naked without his suit, but Matt had still insisted on a hoodie and a tube mask. Though he wouldn't let the teen buy the skull one, stating they were trying to get him off the hook not make them think he was a thug.

Peter had laughed at the thug comment looking down at his skinny body, pale skin, and brown messy locks. If anyone mistook him for a thug, they would have to be blind and deaf!

"Arrrgggg!" Peter moaned, "I do not want to do this! It was scary enough facing Ironman and Captain America up on the rooftop, now it feels like I am walking into the lion's den!"

"You are," Matt commented lightly.

As the building loomed the sick feeling in his stomach increased.

"Your heart rate is high, you need to calm down Peter," the lawyer stopped and put a hand on the teens shoulder. "Look, I can't guarantee this is going to work but I do feel as though this is our best option! You need to trust me."

"I do trust you! I do. It's the pirate and billionaire that scare the ever-living shit out of me! Captain America is fine, he doesn't set off my senses at all."

"Worst comes to worse we will appeal to Cap's better nature," Matt shrugged. "How's you leg?"

"Messed up," Peter sighed, "It's purple and yellow bruises from mid thigh to mid calf. I don't know what I did to it when I fell but even my healing hasn't taken the edge off it yet."

"When we are done here, we need to get that looked at," Matt stated.

The entry way to STARK towers was straight ahead. It was fairly deserted seeing as it was Saturday, so they really didn't have much problem getting in. Matt took Peter's arm to uphold appearances, also to keep a literal finger on the kids' pulse. The boy still hadn't gotten a complete rein on his senses and overloads continued to plagued him.

The security at the front desk looked them over.

"Mr. Murdock, Mr. Stark would like to go straight up to level 70. Please take these passes to access the gold elevator at the end of this hall." The man stated handing two key cards to Peter.

The teen clipped one on Matt's coat and one on his sweater. As they walked down the hall Peter couldn't help but drop some tidbits of information he knew about STARK tower.

"Level 70 is on the Avenger floors, and this elevator is the only way up. Apparently, it's controlled by Mr. Stark's AI!" Peter gushed.

As if on que the elevator spoke to them.

"Good evening Mr. Murdock and guest. Welcome to STARK tower. Please allow me to direct you to the board office where Director Fury, Mr. Rogers and the Boss are currently waiting for you."

"Yes, thank you," Matt offered in response. He paused a moment and spoke to Peter. "Heart rate! Deep breaths kiddo."

"She is so cool!" Peter simpered, his inner scientist obviously winning out over the fear.

Stepping off the elevator Matt paused again.

"Stop pushing yourself kid, the leg is not going to thank you if you keep trying to practically run on it. They are already here, they can wait for us for five more minutes." He said forcing the kid to slow down. "Excuse me, …?"

"FRIDAY, Mr. Murdock."

"Yes, FRIDAY, what room are they in?"

"The second one on your left."

Matt rubbed small circles on Peters back as the teen tried to calm his breathing and ignore the pain in his leg.

"Ready?" Matt asked once Peter straightened himself. Peter nodded then gave a small laugh. "You nodded, didn't you?"

"Yeaaa, I did."

"No consideration for the blind man," he muttered, again taking Peter's arm. It was a short walk to the office and Peter politely knocked before entering.

Tony Stark stood beside Nick Fury at the head of the table while Steve Rogers leaned back in a chair one space down. The impeccably dressed billionaire is the one that greeted them.

"Aww, look Steve! Spider-baby's even smaller in civvies!" He snickered.

"Look who's talking," Peter shot back. The billionaire smirked at the indignant tone. The teen helped Matt find a seat across from Steve then sat down beside him. Using his friend to at least shield himself a bit from Fury's glare.

"Great. We are all here, remove the mask." Fury sneered, getting right to the point.

"That's not going to happen Mr. Fury," Matt said lightly. Before Fury could say anything though, Matt continued. "Something you said on the phone really resonated with me. You are part of an organisation well above any legal repercussions that I could dole out. That being said it would not be in my clients best interest to reveal anything to you."

"Then why are you here?" Fury demanded.

"We understand that even if we don't comply today you aren't going to stop till you get what you want." Matt stated bluntly. "So, what I am proposing is my client's identity be revealed to Mr. Stark and Mr. Rogers under a confidentiality agreement. Surely if Ironman and Captain America tell you there is nothing to worry about, their word would put your mind at ease."

The other two men glanced at each other then to Fury.

The silence continued for a long moment before the director spoke again.

"Alright. If Tony and Steve agree to that. But if that is going to happen, I want the kid trained properly, and educated on the way things are done." He added. At this Steve perked up.

Matt pulled out two large stacks of papers from his briefcase and slapped them down on the table.

"I think that is an excellent idea, my client would benefit from a couple mentors. If we are in agreement, have a good day Mr. Fury. You won't be needed for the rest."

The director seemed pissed off at being dismissed but Tony and Steve simply chuckled at his glare.

Once he left the room Tony took his seat and pulled the stack of papers towards him.

"Remind me to hire you the next time I have to deal with him," Tony snickered looking over the papers.

Steve didn't bother reading the agreement he simply signed and pushed the stack back across the table. Tony glanced up at him, somewhat indignant.

"Geeze Cap, at least read it before you sign your life away."

Steve shrugged.

"It's not like I have billions to lose if I can't keep my mouth shut," he laughed lightly. Tony continued to read while Steve looked to Peter for the first time since he entered.

"How is your leg son?" He asked cautiously. Peter shrugged nervously.

"Not great," he admitted. "Twisted the knee up pretty bad." The man seemed to wince at that statement.

"Sorry about that. If I had of known how young you were, I wouldn't have been so eager to detain you." He paused for a moment, studying what he could see of Peter's face. "so, how many kittens have you saved?"

Peter laughed, he couldn't help it.

"At least six," the teen admitted. "And one very adventurous hamster." The older hero laughed with him and Matt couldn't help but smirk.

Of course, Captain America would take a liking to the boy, the kids' moral compass was almost as strong as his, and honestly Matt couldn't think of anyone that wouldn't like the kid. Given time he suspected even Tony Stark might like him, maybe once he found out he wasn't some teenage simpleton.

Finally, Tony finished reading the papers and added his signature.

"Alright. There ya go," Tony said with a charming smile, "Now that you have my autograph you," he pointed at the teen, "Can commence with that fanboying you promised me back on the roof!"

"Only if you let me loose in your lab," Peter admitted with a smirk that didn't show through his mask but could definitely be heard in his voice. The billionaire scoffed.

Matt replaced the paper's in his back and turned slightly to Peter.

"Go ahead," the lawyer prompted.

Peter could feel his heart rate spike as he pulled down the hood and removed the mask. He waited patiently as the older men got a good look at his face.

Tony was surprised by the youthful roundness of the boy's cheeks and the mischievous grin.

"Gentleman, this is Peter Parker."

"That webbing, is it organic?" Tony asked immediately.

"It's not coming out of me if that is the question," Peter crinkled his nose a bit. He held out his arm and pulled up his sleeve exposing his web shooter. Tony automatically went into engineer mode and leaned over the device.

"That's ingenious, who manufactured the fluid? I didn't think anyone was close to coming up with a fiber of the strength and integrity."

"I did." Peter admitted.

Matt sat back and listened to the nervous teen. Eventually his heart rate calmed, and his muscles relaxed, and Matt could breath a bit easier.

The next week Peter found himself walking into STARK tower again, but this time with an access badge.

Maybe things would calm down and he could get back to his regular patrols, but that didn't seem likely any time soon since he had an overprotective Captain hovering over him anytime he suited up, not to mention a very intrusive billionaire that didn't know the meaning of privacy with trackers and video cameras at his beckon-call.

Matt still joined him on any patrol he did get in without the other two, at least he let him do his thing without mothering him.

Then there was his personal life that was still hosting a certain Mercenary.

How he was going to balance all this, he had no idea, but he figured in the end it was better to have friends that were willing to help then trying to figure it out by himself.


	6. Chapter 6

Peter sat there quickly trying to finish his homework before he had to go. It wasn't that it was hard, just time consuming. Once it was done though he would be free from school work for almost three weeks.

"Peter! The boxes are ready to go, are you?" May yelled from the kitchen.

"Yeah," he yelled back making a final correction, "Yeah I'm coming Aunt May!"

As he bounded into the kitchen, he pulled his hoodie over his head, and was greeted by the smell of gingerbread cookies. With all the self control he could muster he only shoved one warm cookie in his mouth.

May raised an eyebrow at him and playful batted his hands away from the rest of the cookies.

"Get out of here you endless pit you! These are for my co-workers!" She grabbed a big bag off the table and pushed it into his arms. Inside there was an array of pretty boxes.

"Thanks Aunt May, I couldn't have done this without you!"

"My pleasure dear, but really I just put the finishing touches on, you did all the hard work!"

It was true. He had picked out all the paper and bows, mixed and cut out the dough, and even decorated the finished cookies. But since his fingers stuck mercilessly to the wrapping paper May had happily helped with that.

"OK! I am off! I'll see you tonight when you get off work!" He gave her a big kiss on the cheek and practically bounced out the door.

The train and bus ride from Queens to Hell's kitchen took forever but finally Peter was taking the steps two at a time up to the offices of Nelson & Murdock.

He could hear laughing and smell the alcohol from the hall, but since his senses were heightened, he assumed it was a normal amount of booze, he was just sensitive to it.

With a happy rhythm Peter knocked on the door.

A pretty woman opened the door.

"Hello," she said with a smile, "We are actually closed for a Christmas party. But if you want to leave your name …?"

"I'm sorry to interrupt! Ms. Paige, right? I am actually just here to see Mr. Murdock!"

"Peter!" He heard a happy Matt call from inside. Karen ushered the teen inside. Matt stood with his friend Foggy, a beer in hand. "What brings you all the way over here from Queens?" There was a moment pause and then he broke into a huge grin. "Are those cookies I smell?" He demanded.

Peter had to laugh. Of course, the blind, but super sensitive, vigilante could smell the treats.

"Yes, actually." Peter rooted through his bag and brought out a big red box, topped with a shiny red bow. Matt carefully sat his beer down and took the box. He lifted the top and Peter had to grin at his expression when he picked up one of the cookies and felt the lines of the frosting.

The man actually laughed.

"You made Spider-man cookies," he commented. Foggy and Karen looked in the box. Karen carefully removed another cookie. Her and Foggy shared a glance before eyeing Peter more carefully.

"And little Daredevil cookies," She said slowly.

Matt laughed straight from the belly making Foggy and Karen join him. He pulled Peter into side hug.

"Thanks kiddo," he said, "I love them!"

"Aunt May asked if you would like to join us for Christmas supper? It'll be on Christmas eve at our place! Ms. Paige and Mr. Nelson are welcome as well!" Peter commented.

"That would be nice Peter, tell May I will be there. Guys?" He turned his head to Foggy and Karen.

"Free, homecooked food? I am totally there!" Foggy laughed.

"Yes, that would be great," Karen smiled sweetly.

"Nice! I will let her know! I have some more stops to make so I gotta get going! Have fun!" He called over his shoulder as he headed for the door with his bag of gifts in hand. He had barely reached the hallway when he heard Karen whisper to Matt.

"Who is the kid?"

Peter laughed, he trusted Matt to come up with a story on his own, so he continued on his way.

The train to Grand central from Hell's kitchen took a lot less time then the one from Queen's. Peter jogged across the street whilst pulling out his Stark industries gold access card.

He gave the security guard at the front desk a wave before popping into the special elevator that went up to the Avengers floors.

On a normal day Spiderman entered the tower through the helipad doors at the top of the building, Peter Parker the intern entered through the front lobby elevator.

"Hey FRIDAY!" Peter chimed happily.

"Hello Peter. Nice to see you again!"

"Are Mr. Stark and Mr. Rogers in FRIDAY?"

"Yes Peter. They are both in the common room with the rest of the Avengers. They are having their annual Holiday get together."

"Oh," Peter nibbled his lip thoughtfully. Tony, Pepper and Steve knew Peter Parker, the rest of the Avengers did not. He glanced at the presents, even though he was not on speaking terms with the others on the team he felt bad he did not bring them something.

His only hope was the Steve and Pepper might share because Tony definitely would not.

The elevator doors opened, and Peter was stunned into silence. The room was so loud with chatter and laughing that he thought he might go into overload.

For a long moment he didn't move, just trying to get a rein on his senses. Eventually sets of eyes started to turn towards him and Peter fought back the urge to run away.

"Peter!" He heard a booming voice carry over the whole room. Steve Rogers detached himself from his conversation with Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton to come striding over. "Merry Christmas!"

The big man pulled Peter into a side hug and walked him into the room. It was apparent he was aware that Peter was on the verge of a panic attack. Him and Matt had long discussions on how the best way to ground the young superhero when he had these episodes.

Being pinned to the super soldier's side Peter could feel his even breathing and the steady thump of his heart. He used it to count his own breaths. Once they were in the kitchen, a little farther from the noise Steve let him go and gave him a smile.

Peter smiled back, sheepishly.

"Thanks," Peter muttered. "I wasn't expecting all of that."

"That's quite all right Peter. What brings you to the tower today? Shouldn't you be home with May getting ready for the holidays?"

"Well, she actually works today but she has tomorrow off, and we are having a big turkey dinner. She wanted me to invite you and Mr. Stark and Ms. Potts." Peter remembered with his enthusiasm coming back in droves.

"Wow. A full Christmas dinner? That would be amazing Peter!"

"Did I hear Stark industries top young mind made an appearance?" The slick voice of Tony Stark carried over to them. Peter looked over Steve's shoulder to see Tony glide into the room, impeccably dressed per usual, with the exception of the lopsided, cheap Santa hat on his head.

"Hey Mr. Stark," Peter greeted.

"Peter was just telling me that we are invited to the Parker family dinner tomorrow night. Pepper as well."

"Oh? Family dinner eh? How conventional." The Billionaire said.

Peter blushed a deep red, why did he ever think someone like Tony Stark would want to sit and have turkey in their little New York apartment. He didn't see the glare Steve shot over his head and Tony quickly elaborated.

"Not in a bad way. Howard was never a fan of Christmas, so we never did anything but yeah, Pete, dinner would be great! Let's go find Pepper and tell her she gets the turkey and stuffing she has been whining about for weeks!"

Peter smiled widely and followed the man back out to the party floor. Tony spoke to a few people on the way to Pepper, to which Peter just fanboyed and stared. Thor and Bruce Banner were among the chosen few.

"Peter!" Pepper greeted.

She had initially met him soon after Tony and Steve had, seeing as he was going to be interning for her company, at least on paper. Matt had also made her sign another confidentiality agreement since Tony couldn't seem to keep him mouth shut when it came to his significant other. Peter had been petrified of the CEO but soon found her tough business persona melted when dealing with him.

"Hi Ms. Potts, how did your board meeting go?"

Pepper waved the thought off.

"Like talking to a bunch of mindless drones. As long as you assure them, they will make more profit they will just clap and go with what ever I say!"

Peter laughed and allowed his body to relax when Pepper wrapped a him in a motherly hug.

"Happy holidays by the way!" She added.

"You are going to be stoked Pep, the kid actually came over to invite us to dinner tomorrow night. Nice little family get together. Like the one you always want to do but end up with over a hundred people." Tony smirked.

"Well, there is a couple others as well. There will be you and Mr. Stark, Mr. Rogers, and Mr. Murdock with his two guests, May and me of course. Maybe one or two more but pretty small in comparison to your parties I guess." He rattled off excitedly.

"Oh, how wonderful Peter! Of course, we will come." Pepper exclaimed.

Suddenly Peter remembered the bag he was carrying. He dug out a large gold box with red ribbon and handed it to Pepper, to hand to Tony. Then he had a red, white and blue box with stars that he handed to Steve, and finally a bright silver box to Pepper for her to keep.

The adults opened the tops and chuckled heartily. Spider-man cookies along with little Avengers filled their gifts.

Tony promptly removed a little Ironman cookie and popped it in his mouth.

"Mmmm!" He muttered through a full mouth. Steve followed suit and found a Captain America shield and took a bite.

"Delicious!" He muttered.

"Whatcha got there guys?" Clint asked sliding over to Steve's side. Bruce and Natasha came in right behind.

"Ooooo cookies!" Peter heard behind him. He turned to see Thor looking over his head.

"No!" Tony snapped pulling his box away from Rhodey's sneaking hand.

Peter laughed as an epic game of steal the cookie pursued.

He wanted to stay to see who won but he had one more package to deliver and he didn't want to be late getting home.

"See you tomorrow night guys!" Peter called as he headed back for the elevator.

"Bye Peter," Pepper waved completely unfazed, as no one was brave enough to try and steal her cookies.

As he left the tower, he glanced at his phone to make sure he was still on time. His next stop was not the nicest place, and the last thing he wanted to do was walk into 'Sister Margaret's Home for Wayward Girls' after night fall. In fact, he was pretty sure if any of the adults in his life knew where he was planning on going, they would ground him for life.

He had to take the risk though. He hadn't seen Wade for weeks and being alone on Christmas seemed wrong, even for the Merc.

Another hour bus ride took him to North Bronx.

He had only seen the bar once before, and on that occasion, Wade had found him before he had to go inside.

This time though there was no one waiting for him. Peter shifted nervously. He tucked his last present into the inside pocket of his jacket and lifted his hood to try and hide the fact he was a teenage boy walking into a bar of hired killers.

If the alcohol smell at Matt's was strong, the smell of booze, puke, and human excrement at Hellhouse was something else all together. Peter gagged and fought back the urge to throw up before he even stepped foot inside the building.

With a determination that he didn't know he had he forced himself into the bar.

There was a group of biker type men in one corner arguing loudly, a few women of the night sitting at a table close to the door with glasses clasped in their painted claws, a man passed out over the bar, and what looked like a dead guy hunched against the jukebox. Peter suspected he was dead because his intestines were spilt out, over the front of his pants and his eyes were a milky white.

He shuddered and touched his fingers to his web shooters just to reassure himself he was going to be ok.

The bartender was yelling at a thin Indian guy.

"Dopinder. That thing is starting to stick! Get it out of here before the rats come back!" The sleazy looking man sneered, "How do you expect to be a mercenary if you can't get rid of a single dead body!"

Peter didn't look back as the man zipped by him with a hatchet and plastic bag in hand.

This was a mistake, Peter was sure of that, his spidey-sense was blaring ever since he stepped foot in the building. Still, he made it this far and he knew Deadpool had to be close by.

"Well hello there, little jailbait-baby, what is a cute little thing like you doing in my bar?" The man asked eyeing him up and down. Peter was sure Wade had talked about the man before, if he remembered correctly his name was Weasel and he a friend. Well, as close to a friend as someone like this could be.

Peter cleared his throat and approached the bar.

"Weasel is it?" Peter asked.

The man narrowed his eyes at him.

"You're not here to tell me I'm your daddy, are you?" The man demanded. "That transvestite I paid to lose my virginity too swore she wasn't able to have kids!"

Peter visibly recoiled from the statement.

"No!" Peter almost shouted in his haste to put that thought to rest. "I'm looking for Wade."

The man eyed him a little more intently.

"If you have a job for him, you can put that through me," he commented as he leaned forward.

Peter flinch when he heard a wet smacking sound behind him. He wasn't about to turn around to see what was happening to the dead guy.

"It's not a job. I am just looking for him. Is he here?"

"Just left. Want me to message him? Tell him his underage booty call is here?"

This time Peter sighed. He didn't like dealing with these people. If he was in his suit, he would have just webbed them up and phoned the cops but seeing as that wasn't an option Peter swallowed his sarcastic reply.

"Yes, please." He emphasized each word.

Weasel pulled out an old school flip phone dramatically, his eyes never leaving Peter's. The teen was thankful he finally did look away when he tapped out a message.

"There ya go kiddo, Big Daddy Red is on his way back. Did you write a Christmas list for him? Gonna sit on his lap?"

Peter narrowed his eyes at the man, but the youthful roundness of his cheeks prevented him from looking menacing.

A loud plop behind him broke the mood and Peter gagged again as the sound and smell hit him like a wall.

"AH, shit bags, Dopinder! You don't cut them through the middle! That's where all the juices are!"

Peter left, in a hurry. Once outside he threw up in the closest alley and hugged himself tightly.

"Babyboy!" He heard a cheerful greeting behind him. Peter help up a finger for the man to wait a moment, promptly threw up again, then straightened as he wiped his mouth with the back of his sleeve.

"Give me your phone number Wade," Peter demanded seriously, "I am not showing up here ever again to find you!"

"Squeeeeee!" Deadpool squeaked as he slapped his hands to his face in stereotypical teenage girl fashion. Peter huffed and held out a hand to the Merc. Deadpool dropped his phone into the boy's hands before hoping up on a concrete wall to hum to himself and watch.

Peter held the phone away and snapped a picture of himself before adding his name and number. He then sent himself a text.

He passed the phone back to the Merc who happily sent him another text with a smiley face sticking his tongue out.

Peter finished adding Wade's information.

"Can we go for a walk please?" Peter asked. He did not want to stick around this place any longer. Wade made a theatrical leap down from the three-foot wall then lifted his arms as if he just landed a difficult gymnastic move.

"Very well Babyboy! Let me walk you home again! It will be getting dark soon!"

"Fine." Peter agreed readily.

Wade made sure to pull his coat closed and pushed his hat down farther, so his red suit didn't draw too much attention. He was a wanted mercenary after all.

"So, what's up buttercup? Had to be something important to bring you all the way down here!" Wade chirped.

Peter remembered the reason he was out and smiled for the first time since he got to the Bronx.

He paused a moment to root through his pockets before he found the small box. It didn't hold as many cookies as the others had but these ones had taken Peter a long time to make.

"For me?" Wade exclaimed taking the box wrapped in a newspaper comic page and red ribbon.

He unwrapped it haphazardly and pulled out two cookies. One was a chibi Deadpool riding a unicorn. The other was a chibi Peter wearing a Deadpool shirt. It had taken him a long time to do the frosting on those cookies but they had made him laugh so he hoped they were enough for the Merc.

Wade had stopped walking and was staring at the cookies very intently.

"Wade?" Peter asked when the normally very chatty man was quiet for several minutes. "What's wrong? Not allergic to cinnamon or something are you? Did I find your secret kryptonite?"

The big man chuckled then looked up at Peter.

"These are so awesome Babyboy. And the fact you came to the bar just to find me to give them to me is beyond nice!" Before Peter knew what was happening his was pulled off the ground into an intense bearhug. "Shut up White, he must like me if he made me cookies!"

Peter was used to Wade talking to himself, so he ignored it.

They took a bus back to Queens where Peter and Wade continued to chat and laugh all the way to his apartment building.

"Merry Christmas Wade!" Peter smiled.

"You too Babyboy! Hope the happy Ho-Ho finds ya! You're definitely not on the naughty list …." He paused and cocked an eyebrow, "Or are you? Don't want to pry but you do seem to have a thing for leather and spandex clad superhero's!"

Peter punched the Merc in the arm.

"I am just a friendly guy!" Peter snapped in mock anger.

"Yeah kid, you are!" Wade ruffled his hair then turned to leave, he gave a little salute over his shoulder.

Peter stood in the kitchen entrance listening to the happy chatter coming from the makeshift dinning room table set up in the living room. Matt and Steve were chatting by the punch bowl. Pepper and Karen were getting along great sitting at the table. May was putting the finishing touches on the turkey in the kitchen while Tony and Foggy engaged in an enthusiastic debate about law and business.

"Peter," He heard his aunt call, "Can you get the turkey? Everything is ready!"

Peter bounced into the kitchen and effortlessly heaved the massive bird.

"Alright everyone! Please take a seat, turkey is on the way!" May announced. The group piled in around the table and smiled as the bowls of potatoes, gravy, stuffing, beans and turkey started to be set out

"Oh, this looks amazing May!" Pepper sighed. "Thank you so much for inviting us!"

"This does smell absolutely delicious!" Matt added.

Matt did the honors of saying grace, and while not everyone at the table was religious, they shared the feeling that this was a happy time and they should be thankful that they were all there to enjoy it.

Peter never had a large family and since this was the first Christmas without Ben, he couldn't be happier to have the most important people in his life there.

He shoved a bite of potatoe in his mouth and was just piling his plate full of the rest of the food when a voice made him choke.

"Ooooo that looks tasty! Room for one more in here Petey-pie?"

Peter whipped around to see Wade standing in the door way.

"Umm," Peter made a quick look to Tony and Steve who were half way to their feet, then to Matt who had suddenly become very tense. "Wade! Yeah, we have enough, right May?" Peter had jumped up to grab a chair and try to cut off any hostilities between the superhero's and the Merc.

May hopped to her feet, she wasn't sure what was going on but if her nephew wanted to add one more, she would make room.

"Of course! Come on in dear! Let me grab you a plate!"

As Peter scooted over for Wade to sit next to him, he nervously cleared his throat.

"So, you know most everyone, right Wade?" Peter asked.

Wade chuckled and leaned forward.

"How's it hanging Ironnuts, and Spangles! Long time no see! Didn't realize Petey had such big friends!"

Matt turned his head towards Peter and raised an eyebrow, clearly asking the teen how the hell he knew Deadpool.

Peter simply looked away and shoved in a massive bite if turkey, so he wouldn't have to speak for awhile.

It was still a great Christmas!


	7. After 6 tidbit!

Peter let Wade out the front door with his plate piled high with leftovers and wrapped in plastic wrap. The Merc hummed Christmas carols merrily as he waved good bye to the teen.

Peter didn't need his Spidey-sense to know he was in big trouble when he turned around. Matt stood with his arms crossed and brow furrowed, Tony and Steve flanked him with similar looks of disapproval.

"What the hell Peter!" Matt started off the party. "Why does Wade Wilson know where you live?"

"He is a mercenary Peter! Literally gets paid to kill people!" Steve added.

"Only bad peo …." Peter was cut off by Tony.

"Zip it kid! The adults are talking, and I think we know a little more about your 'friend' then you do!" He snapped.

"Tony is right! You can't be hanging around with ….."

What he couldn't be hanging around with, Peter never found out, because everything was cut short by the loud crack of a wooden spoon on the back of the heads of three grown men.

As one, the men turned with a surprised look.

May stood there in all her five-foot two glory, offending spoon held out like a sword to emphasize the words that were coming out of her mouth.

"Now correct me if I am wrong, but the last time I checked, I was Peter's guardian, not any of you! How dare you think that you have any right to chastise the boy for doing something good! I may not know Wade like you all seem to, but I know an injured soul when I see one, and of all the people that sat at my table tonight that man needed a family the most!"

"May, that man …." The wooden spoon rapped Tony's fingers as he stepped forward to protest.

"I get that you all are just looking out for my nephew, but in case you haven't notice Peter has a knack for enduring himself to some pretty strange individuals. He can't help it, people are just drawn to his light! I mean, look at who is here tonight!" She straightened herself up and continued. "If you are worried that Wade is going to be a bad influence, I suggest you take a moment to consider that. No amount of darkness is going to turn this boy away from that golden moral compass he has, if anything he will, and probably already has, made Wade a better person."

The three men stood there in absolute, stunned silence.

"Come on Peter, help me with the last of the plates." May said, switching back to her happy self in a blink of the eye.

Peter took one last look at the men's faces before bounding off after his aunt.

Once they were alone in the kitchen May leaned over to him and whispered.

"How did Wade get in the house?" She asked. Peter flinched.

"We should probably invest in some better locks." He admitted.

May simply nodded as if expecting that answer.


	8. Chapter 7

Spider-man stood over the prone figure of Daredevil, his feet literally straddling the man to keep his own body between the vigilante and Russian mobsters.

No one had guns anymore, but the men didn't dwell on the loss, instead they grabbed pipes, bricks and broken glass, anything that could inflict pain.

Spider-man had joined this fight late, he had only heard the commotion by chance when he was out on patrol. But when he saw Daredevil go down with a gunshot wound to his stomach the young hero jumped in without a second thought.

His suit was in tatters in a few spots where a knife had been sliced through, and his mask was coated in blood down one side from a savage blow to the head. But he was still standing, and his mentor, his friend needed him to finish this.

Their shot-caller stood back, casually puffing on a cheap cigar.

"Kill them both," he finally declared.

The five men came in a single wave and Spider-man had to make the decision to either keep the fight there or draw the men away from Daredevil, so he would not get hurt in the middle of the commotion.

Spider-man blasted a web to an over head beam and shot himself upwards, his knee catching one man under the chin with a sickening crunch. Their attention stayed on him, since he was the only threat moving right then.

Once his feet touched the beam, he reversed his trajectory and bodily slammed into another one of the men. As they crumbled to the floor Spider-man rolled back and catapulted him into his buddies.

He whipped his body from his back to his feet in one motion while getting a couple of webs off, pinning the downed trio to the floor.

One of the remaining men caught him across the face with a hard hook, then a solid elbow to his nose, effectively breaking it and filling his mask with blood.

This was life or death, so the pain did not exist. The teen used his strength and speed to leap over the next assault and kicked the man across the face.

Sirens could be heard getting closer.

A big guy grabbed Spider-man from behind in a rib crushing bear hug but was literally thrown away like a rag doll.

The sirens couldn't be ignored any more. The nervous boss called for his men and bolted before he even knew if anyone heard him.

Two men turned and ran for the door. Spider-man didn't feel an ounce of sympathy for shooting them in the backs with a couple webs.

Satisfied they were clear of any imminent threat the teen skidded to a stop by Daredevil. He was breathing, which in turn allowed Spider-man to take a staggered breath, but he was bleeding, a lot.

Medical care was limited but Spider-man knew where he had to get the man to help quickly. He sealed the wound with a few layers of webbing to try and slow the bleeding.

"Sorry about this," Spider-man muttered as he was forced to heave Daredevil across his shoulders in a fireman's carry.

The NYPD SWAT team stormed the building moments later.

Spider-man and Daredevil got to the roof before the dramatic entrance.

"Alright, I can do this! Just gonna strap you in Dare. Wouldn't want to drop you!" Spider-man told his unconscious friend before using a bit more webbing to tie him to his shoulders.

The journey across the city was slow and cumbersome but finally Spider-man landed at his destination. He hadn't the strength to climb the man up the side of Stark tower, so they used the front entrance.

"FRIDAY!" Spider-man screamed as they busted in on a startled security guard. "FRIDAY, I need you to get Mr. Stark! And we need passage to the med bay! Override Alpha657896!"

"Understood Spider-man! Please make your way to the gold elevator! Mr. Stark and Dr. Banner will meet you there."

Spider-man stumbled into the elevator and laid Daredevil carefully down.

"Keep breathing Matt! Oh god, please, keep breathing!" The teen chanted carefully removing the excess web he used to help carry the bigger male.

He kept pressure on the wound and kept talking because he didn't know what else to do.

The elevator door opened.

"MR. STARK! MR. STARK! TONY, PLEASE, HELP ME!" Spider-man screamed. His panic getting the better of him now that he was so close. It was Bruce Banner that got there first, followed quickly but a pale Tony Stark.

Bruce went to work quickly checking his vitals.

"He needs to go to med bay now! Tony get a stretcher, so we can get him on the bed. And call in Dr. Cho and her entire team. We need to get that bullet out."

"FRIDAY," Tony said.

"On it boss," the AI replied.

A stretcher was brought over and Peter helped them lift the man onto it, then he helped carry him to Med bay and got him on a bed.

Dr. Banner got to work quickly removing clothing. He reached for the mask but hesitated.

Spider-man winced then stammered.

"Do what you have to do Dr. Banner, just don't let him die!"

Bruce removed it quickly and replaced it was a clean cloth, so his face was still hidden.

Spider-man was clenching the side of the bed hard enough he was starting to leave indents in the metal.

"Tony," Dr. Banner said softly before nodding to the kid.

"Yeah, yeah, on it," Tony jumped in quickly seeing the problem. "Kid? Kid? You with us? Pete?"

Spider-man jumped at the sound of his name. Tony reached out and pulled the mask off in order to see the kid's face. He was not prepared for the caked-on blood, bruises and tears.

"FRIDAY, get Steve down here, now!" Tony ordered. Emotions were not his strong suit and he had no idea how to help a traumatized teenager. He put his hands on the kid's shoulders and gently urged him away from the room. "Come on Pete, let Bruce work. We need to get you cleaned up too, ok?"

Peter couldn't take his eyes off the ugly wound in Matt's stomach, Tony's urges to leave went unnoticed.

Finally, his attention was torn away from the scene when stronger hands grabbed his upper arm and neck and his face was pulled into a broad chest. Peter collapsed into the hug as if he suddenly remembered that there were other things in the world besides the grotesque, bloody hole.

The adrenaline started to wear off and Peter could do nothing to stop his body from shaking all over and he couldn't remember when he had started crying.

Steve practically carried him into another room then helped him sit on one of the medical beds. The Captain moved away just enough to get a look at his injuries but the teen squeezed his forearm in earnest, fearing the man was going to leave him.

"Tony, get one of the doctors not currently tending to Daredevil in here. Peter has cuts that need stitches, some other injuries I can't tell, and he is in shock." Steve stated clearly, and with authority.

Tony didn't argue, he left to find someone without so much as a snarky remark.

"Is he, is he, is he …?" Peter stumbled over his words. "Is he going to make it? I didn't get there in time! I should have done more!"

"Easy there Pete, easy. It looks like you did everything you could. And you got him here! That was not easy, I am sure." Steve took the teens hand and placed it on his own chest. "Peter, I need you to feel this ok? Feel the heart beat, breathe with me, ok?"

It was an exercise that Matt and Steve did with him often when he was going into overload. Peter looked into the older Avengers eyes and did as he asked. There weren't many people he would trust in this situation, but Steve Rogers was on the short list, so he didn't question him or fight him on it.

Hours passed, and Steve did not move from Peter's side, and Peter stayed at Matt's.

The doctors had tried to give the teen a sedative so that he could rest but his healing factor just burned through it in minutes.

The doctors had successfully removed the bullet from Matt's stomach and had stitched him up. With IV's of medicine and blood hooked up to him, they could confidently say he was past the worst of it. What they couldn't know though was when he would wake up.

It was morning when Peter's own body finally failed him. He curled into Steve's side, and within moments he was lightly snoring.

Tony quietly walked in and held out a coffee cup to Steve. The man took it with a grim nod.

"That was pretty touch and go there for awhile," Tony commented. "Bruce said if he had of lost any more blood, he would not have made it."

"Quick thinking on the kid's part to use his webbing," Steve agreed.

"Do you want to take him up to a proper bed?"

Steve shook his head.

"I don't think he wants to leave Daredevil, let's let him sleep for a bit then reassess. Did you phone his aunt?"

Tony nodded. He had fed the woman a huge story on a Stark industry retreat for the interns. Team building and all that liberal jazz. She was hesitant but finally agreed when Tony convinced her a kid like Peter could stand some more socializing and it wouldn't hurt his 4.0 GPA.

When Peter woke up his mind was clearer but when he saw Matt was still laying still on the bed, he felt an anger swell inside him like he had never known. Matt did not deserve this.

Tony and Steve stuck close by, but Peter couldn't bring himself to leave the man he viewed as more then just a mentor. His frustration and anger built with every hour Matt Murdock did not wake up.

It was well into the next day when finally, Tony stepped in.

"Kid, you are going to wear a trench into my floor with all the pacing. Go grab a shower and get out of the tower for a bit. Go for a walk, get something to eat! We will call as soon as he is awake." Peter sighed. The billionaire rested a hand on his shoulder. "He is in good hands."

"Alright," Peter mumbled. He didn't have the energy to argue with the man.

The teen got a quick, shower then dressed in some clothes that Tony had lent him. The brand name sweater and jeans fit him surprising well. Peter didn't think too much about it though. Instead his mind was running though the possibility of locating the greasy, mob boss that had ordered his friends would-be execution.

Peter slid his web shooters on but left his torn suit in his room. It had to be repaired anyway, but the teen wasn't sure he wanted Tony to be able to track him.

The teen stopped to peek in on Matt for just a moment before he left the building. It physically hurt to see the man laying there, bruised and broken.

Several hours later Peter found himself sitting on a cold roof, opposite a run-down biker bar. He had several people tell him this was where one, Franko Scerri, often frequented. Peter had not known the name of the man he was looking for when he started, but after mentioning a few of the details about him and his crew people were quick to point him in the right direction.

Peter answered a couple quick texts from Tony, assuring him he was fine just that he wasn't sure he could come back just yet and see Matt still laying there.

His patience paid off and the teen finally caught sight of the man he was looking for.

For several blocks Peter just followed him from the roof tops. He just couldn't understand how that man could act so normal, after potentially killing someone. If just didn't make sense to Peter.

His anger burned in his chest and he wanted nothing better then to go down there and dole out exactly what the man had coming. The only thing that stopped him was the fact he couldn't honestly tell himself he would stop.

The thought of the man dying wasn't the disturbing part of the realization, it was the potential he would have to stand there, and tell Matt, when he woke up, what he did.

He could picture the pained expression on the man's face, the sadness in his voice. Maybe he wouldn't even talk to him again, knowing he had crossed that line.

Peter scowled at the man but ultimately sighed and turned to head back to the tower. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw Captain America standing there watching him. A small, knowing smile on his face.

"I am proud of you," Steve said.

Peter let his shoulders drop and approached the man.

"I thought about it. I really did." Peter admitted sadly.

"We all have. It is what comes after that thought that defines the man." He hugged Peter to his side and rested his chin on top of his head. "Don't worry though, everyone faces judgment eventually."

"When Matt is better, we are going to come back here and take out his supplies." Peter promised.

"Until then would you sleep better if we sent the FBI a little note?" Steve asked.

"Yes." Peter answered immediately. "At least slow him down till we can finish the clean up."

Steve nodded and ruffled Peter's hair.

"That is what we will do then," He guided the teen towards the fire escape, "Come on, let's get back. You need a good night's sleep, and hopefully tomorrow Matt will wake up."

Peter froze and stared up at the big man quickly.

"Don't worry, his identity is safe with us. Tony wouldn't let any of the doctors even peek, and he trusts them with his life!" Steve smiled. "His own curiosity though, was too much."

Peter shook his head with a tired laugh.

"Matt's totally gonna make him sign more papers!"

Down on the street, Steve handed the boy a helmet and started up his motorcycle.

Peter had never been on one before, and it was a nice distraction from the unpleasant feeling in his chest.

Back at the tower Peter joined Tony in the med bay.

"How is he doing?" Peter asked.

"He is one tough son of a bi …" Tony started.

"Language!" Steve snapped glancing at the kid in the room, and in turn making the billionaire chuckle.

"He is going to be fine Pete. All his vitals have stabilized, and I have some pretty amazing tech that knits up all those cuts like that!" He snapped his fingers. "Look he barely has a scar!"

Sure enough, Matt's stomach had a tender looking pink circle but otherwise was in tact.

Peter had wanted to sit with the man, but Steve insisted he go to bed.

The next morning Peter woke up and was greeted by the smell of breakfast. Steve and his friend Bucky were standing the communal kitchen, talking quietly to each other when Peter arrived.

Steve put a big plate of pancakes down and pointedly looked at the teen.

"I get it," Peter laughed sitting down, "Food then I can go to the med bay."

"That's right kiddo, don't think I missed the fact you didn't eat anything yesterday!"

Bucky pulled a face and looked from Steve to Peter. The Captain ignored the look and instead took a sip of his coffee.

The food made Peter feel like a million bucks. It gave his healing factor the fuel it needed to speed up his recovery. He would have liked to say it tasted good but honestly, he inhaled it so fast he didn't have time to taste.

"Ok, clean plate. May I go now?" Peter asked politely.

"Yeah go ahead. I'll meet you down there in a bit," Steve smiled. Peter jumped up and practically bolted from the room, but not before he heard Bucky question Steve.

"What the hell Steve, you adopt a stray when I was out?"

The day got even better when Peter busted through the med bay doors only to see Matt sitting up talking with Tony.

"There he is!" Tony smirked, "Have a little sleep in did you kiddo?"

"Steve made me eat breakfast before he let me come down," Peter mumbled as red flushed through his cheeks.

"Good!" Matt snapped, "With your metabolism you shouldn't be skipping meals. Especially when you're hurt!"

Peter turned an even darker red.

"Out of curiosity, can you hear the blood rushing to the kids face? Or do you just assume?" Tony asked with a chuckle. Matt joined him.

Having heard enough Peter walked forward and threw his arms around the man's neck to the surprise of the older vigilante.

"Glad you feel well enough to be scolding me," Peter muttered into Matt's neck. Matthew Murdock could not hold back a smile and put an arm around the youth's shoulders.

"Thanks to you, I am fine Peter." Matt said sincerely.


	9. Chapter 8

The taxi ride didn't take as long as Peter had thought it would. May hummed happily beside him as they pulled up to the run-down apartment building.

His aunt didn't seem to be bothered by the appearance of the place as she hopped out and waited for Peter to grab his bag.

"Got everything?" She asked kindly. He nodded.

"Yup. But I have my key for the apartment if there is anything I forgot." He assured her.

They headed upstairs to the apartment of one Matthew Murdock.

May knocked politely and they waited for only a moment before the door opened.

"Hello Matt," May greeted, taking the man's hand.

"Hello May, didn't have trouble finding the place I hope?" Matt Murdock smiled.

"No, no problems. Thank you again for keeping my boy for a few days. It's not that I don't trust him, but I feel so much better if he was with an adult. He has a habit of finding trouble, even when he isn't looking." She shot the teen a glance that said she clearly suspected he found then he should.

Peter expertly avoided her stare.

Matt chuckled.

"Teenagers, right?" He commented lightly. "Come on in."

Peter had been in Matt's apartment before, but it wasn't a story he was willing to share with his aunt. He had been out of it at the time, and Matt had to look after him.

May gave Peter a hug and kissed his cheek.

"Alright sweetie, I will be back in a few days. Be good for Mr. Murdock!"

"Of course, Aunt May. Please don't worry and have a good time with your friends. You deserve a vacation."

May kissed him again.

"OK. You boys have a good time. Bye!"

Once May left Matt tilted his head towards Peter with a smirk.

"So how long were you planning on waiting before hauling the suit out of your bag?" He asked.

Peter pulled a face.

"How did you know I even had it?" Peter demanded. Matt simply raised an eyebrow and Peter had to concede the point. He would never go anywhere without it. "Well, I was going to wait till this evening anyway."

"Well you might have to wait longer then that. I thought since your Aunt was taking a vacation maybe we should too. When was the last time you took a night off?"

That was a loaded question and Peter wasn't stupid enough to answer. He hadn't taken a night off since Matt had been hurt, in fact he had expanded his parole zone to include Hell's kitchen, so his mentor could take the time to heal.

Matt shook his head when the teen remained silent.

"That's what I thought."

"Where are we going?" Peter asked, he was curious despite himself.

"Well, normally I'd be drinking with Foggy at the bar if I wanted to relax, but that's obviously not what you will be doing. May would definitely disapprove of that."

That would have been an understatement. His thought was cut off by another knock at the door. Matt disappeared for a moment and when he came back, he was followed by two more people.

Steve Rogers and James "Bucky" Barnes strolled in, both decked out in the best hiking gear. Peter stared at them as if they had three heads.

"Hey Pete!" Steve called with a growing smile at the teens confused look. "This, as you probably know, is my friend Bucky. He couldn't stay away when I told him what was happening this weekend."

"What is happening this weekend?!" Peter demanded eyeing the soldier's boots, and utility belt.

"Have you ever been anywhere outside the city?" Matt asked.

"No," Peter admitted.

"Well, we need to change that. It'll be nice to get away from all the sounds." Matt admitted.

"Let's not waste time here! We have a three-hour drive ahead of us and I am excited to see what the hell Steve plans on doing with a blind man and a teenager in the middle of a state park!" Bucky declared with a huge smile.

Peter frowned at the other man. He would be the first to admit he knew nothing about camping, but he was sure Matt would prove to be more then capable. To be fair, Bucky didn't know who he really talking about.

Downstairs, Steve was super proud to show them the new Jeep he had rented jus for this adventure. It had all the bells and whistles. Moments latter they were on their way.

The city lights, sounds, and the tall buildings slowly disappeared into walls of green. The highway merged into a two-lane road, where cars became scarce and houses even more rare.

At one-point Steve even pulled the car to the side of the road so Peter could see a Deer in the wild.

The teen stared out the window in wide eyed wonder which made both Steve and Bucky smirk to each other. Matt smiled as well but it was more because he could almost feel the tension leaving the tightly-wound teens body.

Finally, they arrived at the Rangers station out side the park. Steve got out and stretched his tall frame and took a deep breath of fresh air.

"Oh yeah! This is what I am talking about!" He declared. Bucky joined him and looked around at the greenery.

"Yup, this is pretty nice! All this open space, greenery, and no one shooting at us!"

Peter had to silently agree. But the rustle of the leaves, and the buzz of insects was a bit unnerving, as if there was something sitting in wait, ready to pounce.

"Calm down Peter," Matt laughed, "It's different for sure but there is nothing to fear out here."

"If you say so," Peter said uncertainly. His heightened senses seemed to be straining to pick up anything in this environment, but it was an odd sensation not a painful one.

Steve came back from the station and put a paper pass in the car window. Then he opened the trunk.

"Alright everyone, here are your bags. I didn't put too much in yours Matt, I wasn't sure how well you can navigate out here, plus Peter can handle the extra." Steve said.

"No worries," Matt replied, "I feel my surroundings well enough."

Bucky was watching the interaction with a mixture of amusement and confusion. It only increased when he saw Peter's bag was almost as big Steve's. He didn't say anything though, he just stood back and waited.

Peter didn't notice the older man staring at him and lifted the bag without any problems.

Steve hefted his own gear onto his shoulder and pulled out the map.

"Alright troop! We have a nice two-hour hike into our campsite so let's get going!"

The super-soldier took the lead followed by Bucky then Matt. Peter took up the rear, making sure Matt didn't have any issues but also allowed himself to gape openly at his surroundings without the men making fun of him.

Bucky glanced back a couple time to see Matt picking his way along the trail about as well as any man with vision, and Peter carrying the massive rucksack without even breaking a sweat.

"So, what aren't you telling me about your new stray and his blind lawyer?" Bucky asked quietly. Steve glanced over at him and smiled.

"What do you mean Buck? They are just a couple of nice guys."

"Right. And I am Tony Stark's daddy." Bucky said with a raised eyebrow.

Peter and Matt could both hear the conversation no problem, but they kept their mouth's shut and just grinned.

They made it to the campsite by early afternoon. Peter followed Steve's instructions to set up two tents, then helped gather wood for a fire.

"Great! Now, how about we have a little friendly competition?" Steve asked. "I brought food, but I feel as though we should catch our meal."

"Sounds good to me old man," Bucky laughed, "Winner gets his dinner cooked for him?"

"You're on!" Steve smiled.

"I'll wait for you lot here, I am going to enjoy the peace and quiet." Matt said as he settled himself onto one of the fold-up chairs. Steve and Bucky looked to Peter. He wasn't given a choice.

That is how he found himself on the lake's edge with a twisted-up fishing line and the beginnings of a sun burn.

The teen snorted to himself and tossed the fishing rod aside.

"Alright Parker, you have the IQ of a genius and the reflexes of a super hero. Surely you can catch a couple freakin' fish!" He muttered.

Upon searching the area Peter found a tree over hanging the clear water. With sticky fingers it was no problem to position himself precariously over the surface. From this vantage point he could make out the forms of the fish underneath him.

Fingering his web-shooter he ran the calculations through his head. The web solution could go through a little bit of water and still work, but it wouldn't be able to go very deep before dissolving.

Carefully he leaned forward to time his shot perfectly. Just as the web splashed into the water a loud crack and a blare of his spidey-sense warned him too late of the impending danger.

He crashed into the water with a surprised yelp. Soaked from head to toe, and still sitting in knee deep lake he looked up to see Steve and Bucky standing on the shore. Laughing.

Peter's face burnt red the whole walk back to camp. He glanced up at Matt and could sense he was going to ask but he bolted into his tent to change before the man got the chance.

The event left his mind once the group was settled in around the campfire. Steve had shown Peter how to gut and cook the fish but then supplemented the meal with food he had brought.

Bucky again had a look of confusion on his face as he watched the skinny teen pack away just as much food as the Captain.

"Did you find him in a mini-me super-soldier orphanage?" Bucky demanded. Steve smiled at him per usual but said nothing.

Matt chuckled into his plate of food.

Peter was enjoying himself until a loud, human like scream, made him jump to his feet in panic. The three adults were close behind him.

"What was that!?" He demanded.

"A bear," Steve said slowly, "A not-very-happy bear."

"So that's our cue to leave right?!" Peter breathed. Matt shushed him with a hand movement and they heard the sound again.

"It's in pain." Matt determined somehow. That gave Peter pause.

"What would hurt a bear? Isn't it the biggest predator out here?"

"Bears can fight with each other, but most likely the culprit is a human." Steve informed him.

They heard the bawling again, and despite the fear Peter took off in the direction of the sound.

"Peter! Wait …" He heard one of the guys' yell, then their foot falls as they followed him into the woods.

As he got closer, he could feel his spidey-sense start to tingle. The dark was so absolute in the woods he had a hard time finding his way, if he didn't have his heighten senses, he would never have found the poor creature.

A large female black bear was huffing and pulling at a tooth foot trap that was snapped over it's front paw. Blood could be seen splattered over the ground. Behind the big bear there were two small cubs halfway up a tree.

The bear caught wind of him and started to pull and huff in earnest. The two cubs cried from their nearby perch.

Peter should have waited for the men to show up, but he saw a problem and his conscience would not let him walk away. Fortunately, he came armed with his web shooters, and he trusted the strength of his web fluid to be enough to contain a three hundred pound black bear.

The teen spoke very calmly to the beast, hoping it at least understood he was not there to hurt her. He aimed carefully so as not to cause more work for himself later. First, he bound the bear to the ground by it three free paws, that way it couldn't cause more damage. Then he side-stepped to catch the bear on the side of its muzzle, it took three attempts to get that shot right.

Now that the bear had no where to go, and no weapons to defend itself, Peter guessed it would be safe to approach. His palms were clammy enough he had to wipe them on the side of his pants as he inched his way forward, still calmly talking.

"I know this is scary, and I am sorry that you had to endure this thing with your babies right here, but if you could just let me take it off, I can get you on your way."

The bears dark eyes followed his every movement, and the cubs continued to cry.

The crunching of dry leaves and twigs alerted him to the other men arriving. Peter ignored them as they stopped short of the clearing. They wanted to yell at him and pull him away, but he was too close now, and they could only stand there in tense silence and watch.

The teen reached out timidly and gently pressed his hand onto the bears forehead. Her fur was a little course, but her body was warm, and her breathing was a steady in and out.

"Ok, this is good. Right? I am just going to reach down here and pry this off. I am no medic but I can at least seal up the wounds enough to slow the bleeding. Easy, now, easy."

Peter kneeled in front of the bear and hooked his fingers around the metal. He was aware this paw was still equipped with deadly daggers so, with a deep breath to steady his hands he pulled the large trap apart. Accidently tearing the metal completely in two.

Shocking himself with the strength, he set the pieces aside and got to his feet again.

"Ok. The trap is off. I have a soluble here that will disintegrate that webbing if you don't want to wait around for it to dissolve. How about I go ahead and put a bit of this on your paws huh?"

The little eye dropper bottle held enough solution to put a couple drips on all the bindings.

It would take thirty seconds for it to work through the strands, so Peter took that time to step back to where the three men were waiting for him. Steve's and Matt's fingers bit into his upper arms as they pulled him back and held him as if he was going to do something stupid again.

As the webbing fell away the bear took a tentative step back then grunted. Its large head swung to its injured paw for a moment the over it's shoulder to where the two cubs were still treed.

Two low grunts had the cubs scrambling down the trees and to their mothers' side. The bear looked back at the teen one last time before the family lumbered off into the woods.

Matt was the first one to speak.

"You really do have a hero complex, you know, that right?" He snapped. "I can't even take you on vacation without you throwing yourself head first into danger!"

"Don't tell Aunt May!" Peter suddenly pleaded. His face having lost all colour.

"Tell your Aunt that I let you tackle a bear rescue? Oh yeah, I would definitely be able to see you again after I say that." He sighed loudly. "Maybe I should have just taken you to the bar with Foggy!"

Steve shook his head and pulled the boy into a hug.

"Don't do that again. Please. You have to be smarter then that." He whispered.

"It was hurt. What was I supposed to do?"

"Wait for us. Wait for the four of us to come up with a plan to help. It doesn't always have to be you!"

Peter nodded. The walk back to camp was a silent one.

Steve made a call to the ranger station to let them know about the illegal trap while Peter and Matt took a seat by the fire. The teen could tell his mentor was still fuming at him, so he wisely shut his mouth.

Bucky finally spoke up.

"I am sorry, but you all need to fill me in here! Where the hell did you get this kid? Was that web stuff coming out of you? Was I the only one that saw the fucking bear trap get torn in half!?"


	10. Chapter 9

Peter cringed as he rolled over in bed. It felt like he had been hit by at semi. It had in fact only been a small SUV, but he was feeling it that morning!

When he investigated the tender area, it came as a surprise that the flesh was still black and blue. Over the last six months his powers had matured, and it took a lot to even bruise him let alone for an injury to stay with him past a good sleep.

The incident hadn't seemed that bad at the time but seeing the damage he figured he had just miscalculated the effects due to the adrenaline high that he had been on.

His movements were stiff as he left the small bedroom to use the washroom and slip into the kitchen to eat. May had already left for work so he was on his own to cook.

Super-human teens take a lot of fuel to keep themselves growing and maintaining their abilities so when he couldn't even stomach a third of the normal amounts consumed it confirmed in his mind there was something wrong.

Now aware of the potential situation it didn't take Peter long to realize it wasn't just his healing factor that was acting up. The tv was blaring at 27 and normal super hearing was barely picking it up. Strength was out the window when he barely moved the sofa. And finally, his adhesive hands couldn't even hold him for ten seconds on the wall.

So many questions started rolling through his head.

The accident at Oscorp with the spider had left Peter with altered genetics right down to his DNA. It was something that couldn't just disappear so that was not the worry. What was making him a bit apprehensive was that something was blocking his abilities, it could be a natural illness, or it could be a man-made weapon.

The last thought was the one that made the teen grab his phone. A brand new Stark smart phone, compliments of Tony himself, because the billionaire said looking at Peter's broken dinosaur of a device made his eye bleed.

It had been a very over-dramatic conversation at the time.

Matt would want to know what was going on, but Peter needed a doctor he could trust first. He didn't want to worry the older vigilante until he knew something more.

Bruce Banner had met Peter before when he had been forced to haul Daredevil into Stark tower for emergency treatment, so it wasn't a problem to text the man personally. The details were spared over text message but he asked if he could meet the man at Stark tower so they could discuss something important.

Banner immediately agreed.

Peter grabbed his bag and slid his web-shooters on just in case before he limped down stairs to catch the bus.

Swinging was faster, and the teen hoped what ever was going on didn't last long because public transit was like torture for the normally high-flying, acrobatic web-slinger.

The bus bounced along noisily through the streets, slowly making it's way towards the Queensboro bridge.

Peter shifted uncomfortably and scanned out the window just to keep his mind off the growing discomfort in his side.

Building rose and fell, with a sparse tree here and there. Nothing exciting. The large billow of smoke to the south though was of mild interest. There was nothing there that normally produced large plums of white but Peter didn't think much of it.

By the time he got to Stark tower he was exhausted. Painful bursts of heat rolled through his body, and his side throbbed continuously.

"Hello Peter," FRIDAY greeted him when he made it to the elevator.

"Dr. Banner please, FRIDAY." The teen muttered, his throat suddenly restricted and hoarse.

The elevator zipped up to on the top floors where Tony's and Dr. Banner's personal labs were. Peter was thankful that the place was empty besides for the single white lab coat of Dr. Banner himself.

"Hello Peter," Bruce greeted when he saw the teen exit the elevator.

"Hey Dr. Banner sir," Peter croaked.

"Uh oh, that doesn't sound good. Are you getting sick?"

"I don't know. I haven't been sick since I got my powers, and right now even those aren't working! It's kinda freaking me out."

The man looked confused for a moment before he motioned the young super hero onto the table.

"I am just going to take some blood samples to look at, ok?"

Peter nodded and let the man do what he needed to do.

A couple hours later Dr. Banner had the answers to the problem.

"Well, Pete it looks like your body is having an adverse reaction to a chemical that you have been breathing in. Ethyl Chloride. It's not doing anything to you long term, your powers are engrained to your DNA, it is simple inhibiting them. You need a few days for the effects to wear off."

"Ethyl Chloride? Where would I be breathing that in? I wasn't fighting a mad-scientist or anything last night, just a petty car thief!"

Dr. Banner thought, and then realization sudden brightened his face. After a moment of searching he found a remote and turned on a local news station.

The report was talking about an explosion at a local factory. There wasn't much structural damage, but many chemicals were still burning, and the firefighters were couldn't just put them out. Instead they were electing for the fire to burn itself out.

"My bet, that is what you are breathing in. And as long as that stuff is in the air you are not going to be enjoying your powers."

It took several minutes for that information to sink in. It took another minute for the ramifications to rear their ugly heads.

"Oh no!" He whined, "Matt and Steve are going to put me on permanent house arrest! What if something happens and I am not there to stop it? What if the Avengers need me? What am I going to do about school!? Flash is going to be an even worse nightmare!"

Banner smiled.

"You survived fifteen years as Peter Parker without the aid of Spider-man. You can do it for a few more days."

Peter groaned and flopped back on the bed, which he instantly regretted when his ribs protested.

"Here," Dr. Banner offered the teen some pills and a glass of water.

"What's this?"

"Tylenol."

The teen looked offended.

"You are just a teenage boy right now. You don't need the highly concentrated stuff I usually reserve for you and Cap."

Peter took them but managed to maintain his pout.

"Call Matt, and I will get you a drive home." Banner suggested.

The phone call went about as well as expected with Matthew Murdock pulling the over-protective grandmother card and ordering the teen straight home. Before Matt was even finished ranting Steve Rogers appeared with James "Bucky" Barnes at his elbow.

They spoke with Banner and patiently waited for Peter to hang up.

"So," Steve started with arms crossing over his chest.

Peter held up a hand to stop him and hung his head.

"Save it. I got the whole rant from Matt. I am heading home. I am going to go to school, go home, rinse and repeat until this blows over."

Steve smirked and nodded.

"Good. I was afraid I was going to have to babysit you!"

Bucky just snorted a laugh.

"No, he was hoping he was going to have to babysit you. Wanted to play mother-hen and nurse you back to health. If you ask nicely, he might still make you some soup or tuck you with a bed time story."

Peter wasn't sure if the ribbing was meant for him or Steve, but it still wasn't appricated. Unfortunately, his annoyed face made the Winter soldier laugh all the harder.

"Aww look, he is adorable when he is mad! Make's me want to pinch his little cheeks!"

Then he made the motion to actually do that. Peter swatted the hand away but unfortunately it was the metal one.

"Ow!" Peter whined snatching his hand back and cradling it protectively. If this was what he acted like when he was normal Peter, he really was a pansy before he got his powers.

"Come on. We will drive you home." Steve said.

"Need me to carry you?" Bucky asked, still grinning widely. The man knew Peter had special gifts, but he didn't yet know the teen was Spider-man. Still he was having much too much fun with this turn of events.

The two men took the disgruntled teen home. Steve making him promise again to stay there until Banner gave him the ok to continue his nightly patrols.

The thought of going to school was so bad Peter almost told May he was sick. She would have believed him if he showed her the ocean of black over his ribs but that would have made more questions.

The alarm clock went off at 630 and after only hitting the snooze button twice the teen managed to pull himself from bed.

The next hour consisted of a quick shower, a piece of toast and a run to the bus. The run left him sweaty and tired, which made him even more depressed over the whole situation.

School on the other hand turned out to be a thousand times worse then he had thought. It became apparent that over the last year he started to rely on his powers far too much and neglected some normal ones. Like paying attention to his surroundings. Without his spidey-sense Flash managed to hit him with a football, two spit balls and a cupcake at lunch time. Peter also tripped on his own feet and fell down the steps in front of all his class mates, who roared in laughter.

Then gym class came around. He had been allowing himself to stay safely in the middle of the pack so to speak when it came to the physical activity. Not too good that people would take notice but not so bad he would be made fun of.

Dodgeball on the first day of being plain old Peter Parker again was a disaster. The ball hurt his sensitive skin. He couldn't dodge the broad side of a barn. And he fell over himself so many times some of the teens were wondering if he was doing it on purpose.

Finally, that last bell rang, and Peter didn't even pause to say good bye to Ned before bolting out the building.

With head down, he started walking home. This was the worst day he had in a very long time.

It was ten minutes out from his apartment when a scream made his whip around to his right. A woman was frantically beating her fists off the massive back of a large, tattooed man.

When Peter moved to get a better look, he could see there was another woman in front of the assailant, and she was not doing well. Blood already ran down one side of her face, deep bruises marked her arms from the man's fingers, and at least one clump of hair had been ripped from her scalp.

Peter dialed 911. He made sure the cops were on their way, but he was already moving before he hung up the phone.

Powers or no he was not going to stand there and let this woman be beat.

"Hey!" He yelled as he got closer. "Hey, big guy! Whatcha doin' there? Getting your thrills by hitting a girl? Classy!"

The second woman and the man turned to look.

"Mind your own business runt! This has nothing to do with you, this bitch owes me money!"

"I don't care if she owes you a kidney! I ain't leaving!"

The man snarled and turned a bit more. In his moment of distraction, the second woman grabbed her friend and started to pull her away. Seeing this the assailant reached out for her but was met with a foot slamming into the back of his knee, dropping him down to one.

Peter might not have his powers, but he had been training with Steve in basic hand to hand techniques, hopefully it was going to be enough!

The women were far enough away that when the man pulled himself back up the only target left was Peter, and he was so angry he did not hesitate.

Peter managed to duck the first punch, then tripped over his own feet to conveniently avoid the second. His boney knee connected solidly in the man's stomach when the assailant managed to grab him, but it didn't not break the hold.

The teen was lifted a good foot off the ground when a hard punch almost knocked him out, he managed to turn with it enough it didn't break anything, but it still hurt like hell.

Before the man could throw another punch, Peter curled in then exploded out catching the man in the face with both feet. It was enough to break the grip, but he did land hard on his back on the pavement.

Snarling in rage the man started kicking out at the downed boy. Peter tried to cover up, but a couple snuck in, the worse being the one that slammed into his already damaged side. With a loud yelp of pain, the attack continued.

On the ground was not where he wanted to be so he took the first opening he could find to roll backwards and get a footing, the man kept coming with wild swings, his blood shot eyes locked on Peter. The fight backpaddled into a small courtyard in front of a nice-looking building.

Peter managed to get one more shot in before a hand closed around his throat. As he squirmed to pull away everything started to turn black.

"Serves you right you little punk! You should have just minded you own business and walked away!"

Sirens blared in the background, on their way to the disturbance but before they even got close a flash of black zipped past the teens face.

The stick slammed into the assailant's eye forcing him to grab his face. Then came a blur of red flurry. Another stick smacked hard into any exposed joints causing sounds that suspiciously like bones breaking.

Once the man was reduced to a blubbering mass of injuries Daredevil snared Peter's arm and pulled him away.

"Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

"Just some bruises."

"I knew. As soon as I heard that police scanner, I knew it was going to be you! Why couldn't you just let the cops handle this? Why couldn't you just be a witness for once?"

Peter didn't have an answer, but Daredevil seemed to sense his resolve.

"I know it's hard. Watching someone get hurt is a horrible experience, wanting to help is just your nature. But you have to be smarter then this Pete."

The sirens were getting closer.

"Stay here. Tell the cops everything, including my involvement. I will meet you at the hospital in my regular clothes."

"OK. I am sorry I scared you." Peter mumbled. Daredevil gave him a quick side hug.

"It's ok Pete. Lets just get you patched up ok?"

As promised Matt met his in the hospital with May.

There was a lot of questions and tears, but Peter couldn't help but smile.

"What are you grinning about?" Matt finally asked when May went to get a coffee.

"I thought I was less being back to normal Peter Parker. I thought all the good things were missing. True I might not heal as fast, but I am still me. I still need to help people, I still have that desire to do good." The teen shrugged and ran a hand through his hair. "It's actually comforting to know."

Matt gave him a genuine smile and hugged him again, not trusting his voice to speak.


	11. Chapter 10 - Fixed

Due to the injuries May insisted he take the rest of the week off school. With his powers still down and out he had to agree. The bruised ribs were a nuisance before, the multitude of injuries he was now sporting were debilitating.

He insisted his aunt not miss any more work, she was having a hard-enough time trying to do it on her own, she didn't need to miss a week's pay because he had a hero complex.

That morning though he silently wished she had insisted. He literally crawled to the bathroom. His ribs kept him constantly curled in on himself with a bruised hip adding to the problem.

He probably could have counted how many times he had been kicked the day it happened but now his whole body just looked like a bruised, morbid mess.

After pulling himself onto the toilet he thanked whatever gods were listening that he hadn't soiled himself in doing so.

His stomach rumbled and he cringed at the thought of the distance it was to the fridge. With a sigh he cleaned himself up, and even managed to get to his feet to baby-step his way to the kitchen.

"Damn Baby-boy! Who played nick-nack paddy-whack all over your face?" Came an annoyingly cheery voice as soon as Peter entered the kitchen.

The teen had not been expecting the Merc to be there, and in fact hadn't seen him in so long he almost forgot Mr. Pool liked to play the game, scare-the-shit-out-of-Peter.

Without his abilities he couldn't even pass off his fright as a small jump. Peter flinched back violently and tripped over himself. He landed on his back with a resounding thud.

The pain came a second later and the teen could do nothing but clench his eyes closed until it passed.

Preoccupied with not passing out he was unaware that Deadpool had used a finger to lift his shirt a bit.

The Merc's voice was no longer sing-song.

"Who did that to you?" He asked. An edge that Peter was not used to, was in the tone.

"Some asshole," Pete muttered slowly rolling to his side, red flushing his cheeks once he noticed the Merc staring at him.

"What asshole?"

"Big guy, I didn't catch his name. Wasn't happy when I told him stop beating on a woman."

Deadpool, with surprisingly gentle hands, helped him stand and then walked him over to the sofa where he could lie back without anything hurting. Peter would have thanked him but was stunned into silence when he looked up to see Wade had pulled his mask off.

Peter had never seen Wade's actual face and the scarred tissue was hard to miss. Still, something about the expression was what made the teen pause before speaking.

"Wade? Are you mad at me?"

The man stiffened.

" . .You?" He asked again, his brows furrowed.

Peter shuddered.

"I don't know his name. I was walking home from school, he was beating on some woman and I stepped in, after calling 911." The teen's voice was uncertain as Wade didn't move, nor did he speak. "I'm ok. Just some bruises."

Peter was cut short when Wade pulled his mask on roughly and walked out the front door, making it slam behind him.

The young hero, sat there, stunned. Unsure if it was what the man did or what he did that just made Deadpool angry. With a quick check Peter groaned, his cellphone was back in the bedroom.

Grunting in pain, he pulled himself up and shuffled back to his room. Phone in hand he fired off about fifteen messages to Wade. None of which got a reply.

Sighing, he figured the Merc would talk once he had cooled down.

After flipping through the news, Peter was happy to hear the fire at the chemical plant had finally been extinguished which would hopefully let his powers come back.

Wade sat very still watching the crack house with intensity.

Getting the man's name wasn't hard. The Police station was buzzing with annoyed voices, stating their displeasure that the prosecutor wasn't going to go ahead with the charges against the child-beater, since he turned over on a higher up.

The Merc was ok with that decision. It meant the man was out on the street, where Wade could easily find him and he had so many fun ideas for this man. No one was going to touch Peter and not pay for it.

He had read the man's file. It included assault, assault with a weapon, unlawful containment, rape and the cherry on top was a child-trafficking charge. That one would have got him killed anyway but since his latest victim was Wade's Babyboy, this man was going to experience ALL his sins first hand. Every. Last. One.

By lunch time there was no change, so Peter still had to shuffle into the kitchen on his own, to make something to eat.

Banging on the door made him jump and almost spill his fruit loops that he had just managed to pour.

"Oh, geeze, come on! I am never this popular!" Peter moaned. With care, he set the bowl down and tried to make it to the entrance. About halfway there the door burst in and a very upset looking Cap entered his apartment.

"PETE …" His eyes found Peter standing in the middle of the living room in all his abused glory. Peter could see that he was shocked by his condition. "Matt said it was bad. But I didn't think …"

The young superhero shrugged and turn back to the kitchen.

"Once that chemical is out of the air, I'll be back to my quick-healing, high-flying self." The teen assured him. A hand gently encased the young man's upper arm. Peter glanced back at the older hero confused.

"Have you left this apartment today?" He asked softly, almost scared.

"No …" Peter confirms. "Not really in the shape to do much."

"Have you spoken to anyone? About this?"

Now Peter was confused.

"Wade let himself in this morning. I don't think he was too pleased with the trouble I got myself into."

Realization flashed over Steve's face before he hugged the teen. Peter eased him away to ask his question.

"What's going on?"

"The cops are coming over to talk to you. Matt asked me to meet you here, as he wouldn't make it in time. The man that assaulted you … he was found dead an hour ago. Pretty gruesome. The police just need to ask you a few questions."

Peter's face loses all color before his hands begin to shake.

"Oh god! Steve … he asked me who did it! I told him I didn't know. But … oh god! Did Wade do this? Did he do this because of me?!"

Steve stared back at the teen, unable to answer the questions because he didn't know the truth.

"What … what do I tell the cops!? Are they going to think I put a hit out on the man? Wade is a mercenary! Oh god!"

A full blown panic starts to creep in. Peter can't breathe, his eyes blur and the world invades his head.

Cap caught him before he hit the ground.

"Breathe kiddo. Breathe." Steve chants as he hugs the teen to his chest and gently rubs his back. He was usually pretty good with the kid, and could calm him down in a couple minutes, but this time Peter just couldn't seem to get a rein on himself. "Peter …" Steve tries softly. The boy doesn't look up, his hand clenches the sides of his head with his face twisted in pain. "Peter?" This time a little louder.

Peter Parker was upset that his actions might have gotten someone killed, but he was in pain because this was also the moment his senses decided to come back online, in one horrible wave. His skin hurt from the fabric of his shirt touching him, his ears bled from just the pounding of his own heart, so when Steve Rogers lost his cool and yelled his name, Peter growled and pulled away with force.

His strength knocking the super soldier back a few feet.

'Leave it to me to piss off the most patient man in the world, on the one day I really need him.' Peter thought bitterly.

Steve stared at him hard.

"The cops will be here is a minute, you need to get a hold of yourself," The man stated somewhat coldly.

Peter stared back at him, unable to voice the fact his veins were on fire. A knock came at the door and Steve walked over to answer it. The teen managed to pull himself onto the sofa before the cops walked in.

He hoped his healing factor would hold off for a couple minutes, so the cops weren't sitting there to watch his bruises disappear, but the way his body burned he knew he didn't have much time.

"Mister … Mister Rogers! W-what an honor it is to meet you S-sir!" One of the cops exclaimed. Steve took it in stride and shook the men's hand, he was used to people fanboying around him. "We are here to talk to Peter Parker, what are you doing here?"

"Peter is one of Tony Starks interns. I have come to know the boy quite well and since his aunt is not home I said I would sit with him while you talked."

"Excellent. Is the boy awake?"

Steve let the two uniformed police officers into the living room where Peter was trying his best not to cry at the intense pain, but not break a sofa in two either.

"Hello Peter, how are you feeling today?"

It sounded like nails against chalkboard, but the teen kept it together enough to answer. He was just hoping he wasn't screaming.

"Been better." Was the honest answer.

"We won't take up too much of your time. We must ask you a couple questions."

Peter managed to endure as they asked him the normal where you were, what were you doing questions. They never asked about him, maybe, hiring a psychopath mercenary to kill his assaulter, so he never told them.

Finally, Steve clicked the door closed behind them and Peter could relax enough to register the feeling of acid searing his skin from the inside out.

Turning, Captain America had every intention of giving the angsty teen a firm piece of his mind. Instead he paused and watched in morbid curiosity as one of the bruises on the boy's face rippled in colour and started to fade from black to purple to yellow before his very eyes.

The increased healing should have offered relief but instead seemed to be causing more pain then anybody should have to endure.

The boy sobbed as a sickening crackle came from his broken ribs binding themselves back together. Steve flinched, feeling like a complete ass for getting mad at the boy.

Carefully he sat down beside Peter and moved him on to his chest so he had someone to hold onto that wouldn't break under his grip.

After an intense twenty minutes the boy passed out.

A few hours later a sing-song voice carried through the house.

"Petey? Where are ya Babyboy?"

Deadpool casually strolled into the living room to find the teen curled up on Steve Rogers. The Captain didn't move but his eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Spangles! What a pleasant surprise! I never pegged you as a cuddler." The Merc flopped down in a chair opposite the duo. The teen did not stir. Deep in a restorative slumber.

"You have a lot of nerve coming back here Merc," Steve growled, "Cops came and questioned him on his whereabouts. Practically broke him thinking a man got killed because of what he said."

"Pffft. A man got killed because he put hands on a teenage boy. And not for the first time I might add. That shit-eater has a long history of beating up women and kids."

Cap shook his head.

"That's not what Peter wanted. The kid has morals Wade. This sort of thing effects him more than you know."

"Not his fault. Asshole had it coming."

Steve knew the Merc couldn't understand that Peter took everything bad that happens and put it on his own shoulders. Even if the man deserved everything Deadpool gave him, Peter would find a way to blame himself.

Deadpool was strangely silent as he stared at Peter. Steve sees what he is looking at. The bruises on the boy's arms are starting to ripple and disappear.

"He's a mutant?" Wade asks leaning forward.

Steve didn't answer him, it wasn't his place to say but he did speak.

"You need to leave Merc. I don't think I like you around him."

"Oh, come on Spangles! If you really gave a shit you would have been out there doling out the punches in my stead." Came the sharp reply. "Where were his big mighty friends when he was getting the shit kicked out of him to begin with? Ironballs couldn't be bothered to send a car for his precious intern?"

The muscles in Steve's chest tightened and he made a move to stand but Peter moaned a little and gripped his shirt. He couldn't get up without disturbing the boy. Instead he just glared.

Wade smirked under his mask.

"I did what you heroes were too scared to do. Took care of the problem."

"Without asking him what he wanted." Steve came back with sharply.

Wade shrugged.

"Babyboy is too good for this world. I'll get my hands dirty, so he doesn't have too."

Steve shook his head.

"You are impossible. I just told you that hurts him, and you still don't care."

The two knew they weren't going to agree but neither are willing to back down.

"Steve?" Came a soft, sleepy question.

"Yes, Peter?" Steve answers, his eyes unwavering on the Merc with a Mouth.

"Can I go to bed? My head hurts." The teen was still mostly asleep and unaware of what was happening around him.

"Sure kiddo."

Steve stood, easily picking the boy up. He gave the other man a last glare before carrying the teen to his room.

p A couple days later Peter was feeling much better. He was sitting in his window reading when a voice made him look up. He had heard the Merc coming this time.

"Babyboy! Back on your feet I see."

Peter smirked up at the man, hanging from the fire escape like a big red monkey.

"Much better now. Steve told me you guys had a talk while I was out."

"Talk? That walking saint-incarnate lectured me like a school girl! Didn't even spank me to teach me a lesson!"

Peter snorted a laugh.

"You would have had to much fun with that." The teen admitted but then looked serious. "He has a point though. I know I get into a lot of trouble, but you can't go kill everyone that looks at me the wrong way."

"Look at you the wrong way? The man beat you to a pulp. I am not apologizing." The man folded his arms and looked away pointedly, still hanging upside down.

"I don't want you too. You are who you are, and as much as I wish you wouldn't kill people, I can't stop you. But I do ask that if it pertains to me, let me make that call."

This time the Merc snorts.

"You will never make that call."

They both look at each other.

"Fine. No stabby-stabby."

"Thank you."

The Merc hopped down and sat beside the teen.

"Soooooooo, what other powers you got? Anything fun? Can you transform into a hot chick?"

Peter rolled his eyes.

"Even if I could, I'd still be fifteen you pervert."


End file.
